CyGenics Expands Into Europe

Plans to acquire stake in PharmaCell

12-Apr-2006

CyGenics Ltd. announced its plans to establish a sound base in the European market to take advantage of exciting business opportunities in those markets. As a first step, CyGenics plans to acquire a significant stake in Dutch-based PharmaCell BV. According to the company, this investment will give CyGenics a key foothold in Europe, enhanced core strengths and technology offerings; and provides a pathway for expansion into the European market.

Through this investment CyGenics will be able to build on PharmaCell's know-how and resources for product and process design, and utilise the PharmaCell GMP manufacturing facility. Strategically, this investment will give CyGenics access to a state of the art GMP manufacturing facility that can provide the high quality standards required by the new European directive for cord blood banking. The investment also vertically integrates the service offerings of CyGenics from adult stem cell storage services and cell growth consumables products to include cell therapy manufacturing services.

PharmaCell and CyGenics are two partners in the multi-national PACRIMA R&D collaboration. The mandate of PACRIMA is to develop a platform for growing antigen specific T cells and to test whether these cells are suitable for therapeutic use in the treatment of cancer. PACRIMA has been awarded a EUR1,000,000 (approximately A$1.7 million) grant from the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs to foster international collaboration of Dutch organisations in research and development.

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