Stempeutics, Kemwell in joint development and marketing pact for stem-cell products

Bengaluru-based firms Stempeutics Research, a group  company  of  Manipal Education and Medical Group (MEMG) and Kemwell Biopharma have joined hands for global commercialisation of Stempeutics' stem cell product Stempeucel.

Under the agreement announced on July 22, Kemwell will take a minority stake in Stempeutics and invest up to Rs 95 crore based on certain milestones as well as establish a world class cGMP cell therapy manufacturing  facility  at  Kemwell's  facility  in  Bengaluru for  contract  manufacturing  of  cell therapy products.

Currently  Stempeutics  is  working  on  three  key  indications  i.e. Critical  Limb  Ischemia  (CLI), Osteoarthritis (OA) and Diabetic Foot Ulcer (DFU). For marketing the products in India, it has partnered with Cipla for the CLI indication and with Alkem Labs for OA indication. Stempeutics is now exploring registration and commercialisation of Stempeucel in developed markets. Funds received from Kemwell will be utilised for achieving key regulatory milestones in the US, Europe and Japan, the company states.

Commenting  on the Kemwell collaboration, Ranjan Pai, Chairman, Manipal  Education and  Medical Group said, "We are progressing well towards our goal of bringing stem cell-based products  for  unmet  medical  needs  in  the  Indian  market  by  2020.  Stempeutics  has  done pioneering  work  in stem  cells  R&D  and  by  far,  it  is  the  first  stem  cell company  in  Asia  to  demonstrate significant clinical outcomes in CLI. The synergistic combinations of Kemwell and Stempeutics will accelerate the development of novel stem cell-based products for patients  and transform India into a global player in stem cell therapeutics."

Anurag  Bagaria,  Chairman  and  CEO,  Kemwell  added,  "We  believe  that  Stem  Cells  will  become  a  major  branch  of  medical  treatment  and  a  standard  of  care  for challenging  diseases.  Kemwell  is  looking forward  to  building  a  world-class  cGMP  facility  in  Bangalore and make India as an emerging hub for cell therapy manufacturing. We are happy to partner with Stempeutics because of their strength in developing innovative stem cell  products  starting  from  basic  research,  preclinical  studies,  large  scale  manufacturing  and  conducting multi-centre clinical studies meeting international standards."

Chandru  Chawla,  Executive  Vice  President  Cipla  and  Board  Member,  Stempeutics  added  "Stempeutics has been at the cutting edge of Stem cell research and remains among the top cell therapy companies in the world bringing therapeutic products for difficult-to-treat diseases. It has made Invent-in-India a reality".

BN Manohar, CEO of Stempeutics said, "Our Company's mission is to "Develop innovative  stem  cell  products  addressing  major  unmet  medical  needs  with  an  India  first,  global  next  approach. In the past 10 years, we have developed cutting-edge technology to bring stem cell products in India to physicians who now have an off-the-shelf stem cell therapy in their hand to fight diseases like Critical Limb Ischemia. With Kemwell's investments, we plan to register for additional indications for Stempeucel, expand into the developed markets, and further  develop our pipeline."

About Stempeutics:

Stempeutics is an advanced clinical stage Biotech Company based out of Bengaluru. Kemwell  is  a  contract  development  and  manufacturing  organisation  serving  the pharmaceutical  industry  offering  a  comprehensive  service  for  development  and  cGMP manufacturing of large molecule products (drug substance and drug product).

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