GERMANTOWN, Md. and BEER-SHEVA, Israel, Dec. 12, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Orgenesis Inc. (NASDAQ: ORGS), a developer of advanced cell therapies, manufacturer and service provider, along with BGN Technologies an affiliate of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU), today announced a licensing and collaboration agreement on the research and development of BGU’s dissolvable carriers for cell culturing. The technology was developed by Professor Smadar Cohen, Founder and Director of The Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell (RMSC) Research Center at BGU. Under the license agreement, Orgenesis has received the exclusive, worldwide rights to make, develop and commercialize technologies utilizing the dissolvable carriers for cell culturing. This unique technology has the potential to allow Orgenesis to reduce the cost and complexity of manufacturing its cell therapy programs.
Vered Caplan, CEO of Orgenesis, commented, “We are honored to continue our strategic partnership with leading scientists at Ben-Gurion University who have developed this unique dissolvable carrier for cell culturing. These breakthrough carriers are the basis for our development of an automated adherent cell culturing system allowing seamless seeding, harvesting and passaging of cells in closed bioreactors. We are excited about the potential of this technology and its abilities to advance adherent cell culturing for cell therapies.”
Professor Smadar Cohen, Founder and Director of The Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell (RMSC) Research Center at BGU, commented, “We are pleased to continue working with the skilled professionals at Orgenesis. The research and development of resolvable carriers for cells contains the potential to produce higher quality cells and the technology allows dissolving of carriers and automatic seeding of new ones. We believe that Orgenesis has developed a highly scalable and cost-effective platform for cell therapies, which could help accelerate the development of this technology.”
About BGN Technologies
BGN Technologies is the technology company of Ben-Gurion University, Israel. BGN Technologies brings technological innovations from the lab to the market and fosters research collaborations and entrepreneurship among researchers and students. To date, BGN Technologies has established over 100 startup companies in the fields of biotech, hi-tech, and cleantech as well as initiated leading technology hubs, incubators, and accelerators. Over the past decade, BGN Technologies has focused on creating long-term partnerships with multinational corporations securing value and growth for Ben-Gurion University as well as the Negev region. For more information, visit: http://in.bgu.ac.il/en/bgn/Pages/default.aspx
About Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) is the fastest growing research university in Israel. With 20,000 students, 4,000 staff and faculty members, and three campuses in Beer-Sheva, Sede Boqer and Eilat, BGU is an agent of change, fulfilling the vision of David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s legendary first prime minister, who envisaged the future of Israel emerging from the Negev. The University is at the heart of Beer-Sheva's transformation into the country's cyber capital, where leading multinational corporations eagerly leverage BGU’s expertise to generate innovative R&D. As it counts down to its 50th anniversary, BGU’s mission continues to be effecting change, locally, regionally and internationally. With faculties in Engineering Sciences; Health Sciences; Natural Sciences; Humanities and Social Sciences; Business and Management; and Desert Studies, BGU is a university with a conscience, active both on the frontiers of science and in the community. Over a third of its students participate in one of the world's most developed community action programs. The University is a recognized national and global leader in many fields, actively encouraging multi-disciplinary collaborations with government and industry, and nurturing entrepreneurship and innovation in all its forms.
About Orgenesis
Orgenesis is vertically integrated service and research company in the regenerative medicine industry with a focus on cell and gene therapy development and manufacturing. The Company operates through two platforms including (i) a Cell Therapy (“CT”) development platform and (ii) a Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (“CDMO”) platform. Through the CT development platform, Orgenesis is focused on the development of proprietary cell therapies, including an autologous trans-differentiation technology and therapeutic collaborations and licensing with other pre-clinical and clinical-stage biopharma companies and research and healthcare institutes. Through the CDMO platform, Orgenesis is focused on manufacturing and development services for other biopharma companies. The CDMO platform operates through Masthercell Global, which currently consists of MaSTherCell in Belgium, Atvio in Israel and subsidiaries in South Korea and in the United States, each having unique know-how and expertise for manufacturing in a multitude of cell types. These capabilities offered to third-parties are also utilized for internal development projects, with the goal of allowing Orgenesis to bring new products to patients faster and in a cost-effective way. Additional information is available at: www.orgenesis.com.
Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements involve substantial uncertainties and risks and are based upon our current expectations, estimates and projections and reflect our beliefs and assumptions based upon information available to us at the date of this release. We caution readers that forward-looking statements are predictions based on our current expectations about future events. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Our actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the success of our reorganized CDMO operations, the success of our partnership with Great Point Partners, our ability to achieve and maintain overall profitability, the sufficiency of working capital to realize our business plans, the development of our transdifferentiation technology as therapeutic treatment for diabetes which could, if successful, be a cure for Type 1 Diabetes; our technology not functioning as expected; our ability to retain key employees; our ability to satisfy the rigorous regulatory requirements for new procedures; our competitors developing better or cheaper alternatives to our products and the risks and uncertainties discussed under the heading "RISK FACTORS" in Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2017, and in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement for any reason.
Contact for Orgenesis:
David Waldman
Crescendo Communications, LLC
Tel: 212-671-1021
Orgs@crescendo-ir.com
Contact for BGU:
Tsipi Haitovsky
Global Media Liaison
BGN Technologies
Tel: +972-52-5989-892
Tsipihai5@gmail.com