International life sciences partnership to develop advanced lung disease treatments

By David Brem, OurWorld editor.

An international life sciences partnership has been announced that aims to advance cell therapy approaches for treating lung disease.

Gamida Cell, an Israel-based company developing cell therapy products for the treatment of diseases with unmet clinical needs.

The firm was introduced to NovaThera, a spin out from London’s famous Imperial College, through UK Trade & Investment’s Global Partnerships programme.

The two will now work together to develop specific cell therapeutic treatments for lung repair and regeneration.

Partnership identified

Margaret Parton, UK Trade & Investment’s life sciences sector champion identified the potential match between the two firms and ensured the project was suitable for the Global Partnerships programme.

"As soon as I saw Gamida Cell's range of activity I knew straight away that NovaThera should meet them.

“I made sure the right introductions were made and we are now seeing the fruits of that discussion,” she says.

Leader in bio-therapeutics

NovaThera and Gamida Cell will pool their technology and expertise with a clinical team at Papworth Hospital in the East of England, who provide specialist heart and lung services.

The emergence of the UK as a leader in bio-therapeutics and access to its talent were two reasons Gamida Cell pursued a UK partner.

This is a very exciting development.

Dame Professor Julia Polak,

Imperial College London

"This collaboration is in line with our strategy to partner with selected companies focused on developing therapeutics for life threatening illnesses and to help bring these products to market," said Dr. Yael Margolin, CEO, Gamida Cell.

Advanced treatment of lung disease

NovaThera, who intend to use sophisticated bioprocessor technology to develop the first processes for the practical manufacturing of cells for medical uses, has ambitious plans to develop regenerative medicine.

“Regenerative therapies based on cells could offer a radical new treatment option if successful," said Dr. Gareth Roberts, CEO of Novathera.

Research indicates that considerable advances in treating lung disease could come from using stem cells to repair and regenerate damaged tissues.

Dame Professor Julia Polak, from the Imperial College London and a world expert in the field of lung pathology said of the partnership:

"This is a very exciting development, and could be a huge step towards a practical approach to the regeneration and repair of lungs severely damaged by incurable diseases such as emphysema and smoking.”