Yissum licenses stem cell technologies to TheraCell

Licensing

Yissum Research Development Company, the technology transfer arm of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, has licensed a package of stem cell-related technologies to TheraCell, Inc. of California, for use in regenerative medicine procedures such as spinal fusion.

The technology was invented by Dan Gazit at the Faculty of Dental Medicine at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. It includes a biologically compatible, oxygenated gel that improves bone regeneration and fusion of bone grafts. This will be used in conjunction with TheraCell’s proprietary scaffold technology for enhancing the efficiency of spinal fusion procedures. The combined product is recognised as a medical device, enabling an expedited regulatory pathway.

Yehuda Yarmut, Deputy CEO of Yissum, said, “The ability to ensure adequate oxygen levels for cells can help not only with bone healing and bone stem cells, but also holds great promise for other stem cells, as well as for the survival of engineered tissue and organ grafts.”

Gazit’s invention includes a special scaffold with a particularly high oxygen-carrying capacity, which aims to increase fusion rates by increasing oxygenation at the surgical site. Scaffolds derived from this technology will act to improve oxygenation and encourage the activity of stem cells and bone-forming cells. In preclinical experiments in rodents, accelerated spinal fusion and bone fracture healing were observed, as well as improved stem cell survival.

The licensing agreement also includes novel methods for purifying and manipulating stem cells derived from patients. These methods for deriving autologous stem cells will be further developed and used by TheraCell in combination with a proposed injectable or transplantable version of the scaffold that will enable an injectable therapy for spine disorders.