Stem Cell Medicine has received funding from the Israeli Ministry of the Economy to build a gene therapy facility. The new facility will enable SCM to manufacture gene therapy products for commercial launches, benefiting from the favorable global regulatory and marketing environment for its products. The first gene therapy product under development at SCM is for the treatment of neuropathic pain.
The plant will be built in Jerusalem, a Zone A region, allowing tax and grant benefits, in an investment of over 20 million NIS (approximately $5.5 million), of which 20% will be covered by the grant. The new production facility will make available production space in SCM's existing GMP approved facility for production of exosomes from stem cell for collaboration with large biopharma companies.
"We are pleased that the government of Israel recognizes our unique contribution to the development of new therapies. SCM is advancing its gene therapy portfolio at a time of major global investment and value creation in gene therapy, as evidenced by both capital investments and M&A activity,” Ehud Marom, SCM's Chairman, said. “There is, however, a global bottleneck in GMP approved labs and production facilities for gene therapy and our goal is to help address this with this new investment. The new facility will enable us to further integrate our capabilities, adding gene delivery vehicles for genetic modification for human use. SCM is currently raising $30 million in a pre-IPO round, which we expect to be followed by an IPO in the next few years. We are expecting our first cell-based product, for cosmetic uses, to be on the market this year."
Subscribe to our e-Newsletters
Stay up to date with the latest news, articles, and events. Plus, get special offers
from American Pharmaceutical Review – all delivered right to your inbox! Sign up now!