Orgenesis SPRL, Belgian subsidiary of Israeli company, Orgenesis (ORGS), has signed a strategic agreement with MaSTherCell to advance its manufacturing of insulin-producing liver cells to combat diabetes. Orgenesis is a leader in the emerging fields of cellular therapy and re-generative medicine.
“The team at MaSTherCell has the right mix of capabilities, experience, technology and manufacturing processes in place to make it a natural fit for Orgenesis and will give us scalability in our efforts to have a significant impact on Type 1 diabetes,” said Jacob BenArie, CEO of Orgenesis and Orgenesis SPRL. “We wanted a partner with a centrally located facility in Europe. MaSTherCell is located in the Walloon region of Belgium with access to a large biotech talent pool which they may tap into as we scale up our operations and activities.”
Orgenesis is a pioneer in the field of ‘cellular trans-differentiation’, a process that the company is developing to transform a type 1 diabetic patient’s own liver cells into new insulin-producing cells. Cellular trans-differentiation involves a complex biologic process, and requires sophisticated manufacturing technology and capabilities.
Orgenesis sees in MaSTherCell the experience, system design and cutting-edge technology to deliver the control properties and conditions needed for the live cell culture and expansion process critical to commercial scale manufacture of Orgenesis cellular trans-differentiation products.
“Orgenesis has an innovative approach and we are proud to be part of this venture. It is gratifying to see our cell therapy development and manufacturing service capabilities being used to support Orgenesis as they move ahead with their efforts to help patients suffering from Type 1 diabetes. We look forward to fulfilling the new role entrusted to us, and to working with Orgenesis moving forward,” said Hugues Bultot, CEO of MaSTherCell.