5 May 2020
Melbourne and Adelaide, Australia: VivaZome Therapeutics Pty Ltd (“VivaZome”) and the University of Adelaide today announced that they have entered into a series of agreements encompassing licensing of technology, access to stem cells and conduct of research, all in support of VivaZome’s mission to develop and commercialise exosome-based therapeutics.
Under the Licence Agreement, VivaZome has secured world-wide rights to intellectual property for the selection, isolation, purification, expansion and processing of stem cells from certain human tissues suitable for production of subcellular fractions. VivaZome will process these fractions to generate exosome products.
The Research and Material Transfer Agreements cover the collection of specified tissue types, the selection, derivation and expansion of cell lines from the tissues, and the subsequent supply of those cell lines to VivaZome.
The research program at the University of Adelaide will be conducted in the Mesenchymal Stem Cell (MSC) Laboratory in the School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Science. The MSC Laboratory was founded, and is led by eminent stem cell researcher Prof Stan Gronthos, a NHMRC Principal Research Fellow with a specialty in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. He is also Co-Director of the Centre for Stem Cell Research at the University. Stem cell technology from Prof Gronthos formed part of the founding technology for Mesoblast, the world’s largest stem cell company.
VivaZome’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr David Haylock, stated: “VivaZome is delighted to have secured this multi-faceted deal with the University of Adelaide and Professor Gronthos. Access to the University’s technology and the associated cell lines is the culmination of an extensive exercise by VivaZome to identify and secure cell types with the potential to function as the factories for our therapeutic exosomes. Based on assessments done at CSIRO and at La Trobe University, we believe that these cell lines will make pro-angiogenic exosomes with high efficiency.”
University of Adelaide Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research), Professor Anton Middelberg, said: “This partnership highlights the breadth and depth of fundamental work performed by University of Adelaide researchers. Our collaboration with VivaZome demonstrates the University’s commitment to investigator-led research that is also aimed at delivering long term benefits to the economy and to society.”
VivaZome’s Chair, Dr Ian Nisbet, commented: “The collaboration with University of Adelaide is the latest in VivaZome’s international network of collaborations and the cell lines generated with the University will be a valuable addition to VivaZome’s portfolio of proprietary assets.”
For further information, contact:
VivaZome Therapeutics Pty Ltd
Dr David Haylock, CEO
david.haylock@vivazome.com
Phone: +61 (0) 439 617 657
University of Adelaide
Mr Greg Macpherson
Business Development Specialist – Health & Medical Sciences
Innovation & Commercial Partnerships
greg.macpherson@adelaide.edu.au
Phone: +61 (08) 8313 3485
About VivaZome Therapeutics Pty Ltd
VivaZome Therapeutics Pty Ltd (ABN 59 602 230 964) is a privately-held Australian biotech company, with headquarters at the La Trobe University Technology Enterprise Centre. VivaZome was formed to develop and commercialise exosome-based therapies for debilitating and/or life-threatening disorders, with an initial focus on critical limb ischaemia (CLI).
CLI is a debilitating disease caused by reduced blood flow, most often in the legs. It affects more than 4 million people worldwide, with an estimated treatment cost of over $10B pa in the US alone. Existing treatments are largely surgical interventions including, in advanced disease, amputation. There is a huge need for new treatments, particularly pharmaceutical interventions to prevent or delay disease progression.
VivaZome is developing new technologies and generating intellectual property and proprietary materials that are applicable generically to exosome therapies. They will also underpin the Company’s development of angiogenic exosomes for the treatment of CLI. The VivaZome team has extensive expertise in the development and commercialisation of biological therapies, together with a wide network of expert contacts in the Australian and global biotech community.
VivaZome acknowledges the support of the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources through the CRC-P program, and the efforts of its CRC-P partners, La Trobe University and SeerPharma Pty Ltd.
For more information, please visit www.vivazome.com
About the University of Adelaide
Established in 1874, the University of Adelaide is a world-class research and teaching institution, centred on discovering new knowledge, pursuing innovation and preparing the educated leaders of tomorrow. Proudly ranked in the top 1% of universities in the world, the University of Adelaide has over 100 Rhodes Scholars among its distinguished alumni and is associated with five Nobel Laureates.
About Exosomes
Exosomes are small particles released by cells. They are a key effector in communication between cells and have the potential to become an off-the-shelf medicine without the technical problems of cell therapies. Currently exosomes are made at small scale – the VivaZome project aims to develop a large-scale, advanced manufacturing process for exosomes.
