Date Posted – 25 May 2021
ReNerve Ltd (ReNerve) and VivaZome Therapeutics Pty Ltd (VivaZome) today announced that they have entered a collaboration to combine their leading scaffold and exosome technologies, skills and experience to explore new solutions for the repair of spinal cord injuries. Under the terms of the collaboration the two companies will share costs to progress the program to preclinical proof of concept studies.
The two companies will work together to explore the potential of combining the ReNerve NervAlign® nerve cuff with VivaZome’s proprietary exosomes to enhance nerve regrowth in damaged spinal cords. The NervAlign® nerve cuff has potential to facilitate localised delivery of regenerative factors to damaged nerves whilst protecting the healing process, while the VivaZome exosomes have potential to stimulate the regeneration of functional neural tissue and reduce inflammation.
VivaZome CEO, Dr David Haylock, stated “This collaboration with ReNerve is an exciting opportunity for VivaZome. VivaZome has identified neurological disorders as a key area of strategic interest for VivaZome’s exosome products. Working with a well-credentialled partner like ReNerve provides the opportunity to make significant progress in this high-need clinical area and further highlights the breadth of potential application for VivaZome exosomes.”
“We are delighted to be working with Dr Haylock and the VivaZome team and to be able to apply their expertise and knowledge in the advancement of exosome technology into spinal cord repair” said Dr David Rhodes, CSO of ReNerve.
Currently there are around 250,000 people in the US living with spinal cord injuries, with around 17,500 new cases per annum. The treatment options for people with spinal cord injury are currently limited and safe and innovative solutions are needed to achieve meaningful improvements in their quality of life.
The collaboration is aiming for first preclinical studies to be initiated by the end of the year.
Contacts:
ReNerve Ltd
Julian Chick, CEO
jchick@renerve.com.au
Phone: +61 0417 137 291
VivaZome Therapeutics Pty Ltd
Dr David Haylock, CEO
david.haylock@vivazome.com
Phone: +61 0439 617 657
About VivaZome
VivaZome Therapeutics Pty Ltd is a privately-held Australian biotech company, with operational headquarters at the La Trobe University Technology Enterprise Centre in Melbourne, Australia. VivaZome aims to develop and commercialise exosome-based therapies for debilitating and/or life-threatening disorders, with an initial focus on ischaemia, fibrotic disease and neurological disorders.
For more information, please visit www.vivazome.com.
