MONT-SAINT-GUIBERT, Belgium—Cardio3 BioSciences (C3BS), a leader in the discovery, development and commercialization of regenerative, protective and reconstructive therapies, has announced the signing of a preferred access agreement with Mayo Clinic. Under this agreement, Mayo grants C3BS preferred access to technologies developed in the Mayo Clinic Center for Regenerative Medicine, as well as select other Mayo technologies. Mayo Clinic has a financial interest in Cardio3 Biosciences.
This agreement is an expansion of a long-standing collaboration, which led to the development of C-Cure®, Cardio3 BioSciences’ innovative cell therapy product candidate based on the discovery of the cardiopoiesis platform by the team of Andre Terzic, M.D., Ph.D. at Mayo Clinic now in advanced Phase 3 clinical trials in Europe.
C-Cure consists of a patient’s own cells that are harvested from the bone marrow and engineered to become new heart muscle. This process is known as cardiopoiesis, the world’s only cell-reprogramming technology platform designed to drive the differentiation of adult stem cells into new cardiac progenitor cells. This exclusive technology is the first and currently only stem-cell programming technology to have undergone conclusive human clinical trials for the treatment of heart failure with regenerative therapies.
Cardio3 BioSciences has also developed a proprietary catheter called C-Cathez, for delivery of bio-therapeutic agents into the myocardium. Using the C-Cathez to complete the C-Cure therapy, these cardiopoietic cells are injected into the patient’s heart through a minimally invasive procedure with the aim of repairing damaged tissue and improving heart function and patient outcomes.
Mayo Clinic has identified regenerative medicine as a strategic priority and launched the Mayo Clinic Center for Regenerative Medicine, led by Terzic. The center is designed to discover, translate and apply regenerative technologies across medical and surgical specialties.
C3BS has identified cellular therapies as the strategic technological pillar of the company and is looking to further extend its portfolio in this area. Building on its core competences and expertise in cellular therapies and cardiovascular diseases developed with C-Cure, Cardio3 BioSciences’ access to Mayo Clinic Center for Regenerative Medicine technologies is an extra asset to further strengthen the company’s long term plan to bring the best innovative therapeutic response to unmet medical needs, the company said in a press statement.
With this agreement, Mayo Clinic and Cardio3 BioSciences’ unique expertise and competences will come together to accelerate innovative medical advancements to benefit patients. Mayo Clinic will significantly expand its ability to address unmet needs and Cardio3 BioSciences gains access to a broad portfolio in multiple areas such as cardiology, oncology or others, enabling the company to advance regenerative medicine’s potential, the company added.
Dr Christian Homsy, CEO of Cardio3 BioSciences, said, “We are extremely pleased to significantly extend our collaboration with Mayo Clinic. With the development of the cardiopoiesis platform and the C-Cure clinical program, we have built over the past years a solid foundation and mutual trust that will drive our future scientific collaboration. Securing this agreement with the nation’s leading clinical institution offers remarkable opportunities building on the strength of both organizations. Mayo will continue to invent new concepts, while Cardio3 will offer its development expertise to those technologies, as well as guidance in the early development phases to the Mayo research teams. This agreement is in line with our business development strategy defined earlier this year, and enables our company to rapidly and significantly enlarge its product portfolio with high quality research programs across multiple therapeutic areas.”
“We are excited for the opportunity to expand our collaboration with Cardio 3 and accelerate the delivery of novel therapies to patients”, says Clark Otley, M.D., medical director of Mayo Clinic Ventures, which works to commercialize Mayo Clinic technologies for the benefit of patients worldwide.
Recognizing 150 years of serving humanity in 2014, Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit worldwide leader in medical care, research and education for people from all walks of life.
Cardio3 BioSciences was founded in 2007 and is based in the Walloon region of Belgium. The company leverages research collaborations in the U.S. and in Europe with Mayo Clinic and the Cardiovascular Centre Aalst, Belgium.
