Jan. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- BioTransplant Incorporated (Nasdaq: BTRN - news) and Novartis Pharma AG (NYSE: NYS - news) today announced that the new company they formed on September 26th, 2000 will be named ``Immerge BioTherapeutics, Inc,'' in the U.S. The new independent company commenced operations on January 2nd, 2001 and will focus its research on the development and therapeutic applications of xenotransplantation of cells, tissues and organs. Xenotransplantation has the potential to provide a lifeline for the thousands of people waiting for an organ transplant.
Julia Greenstein, Ph.D., President and CEO of Immerge, stated, ``Immerge BioTherapeutics is the beginning of a focused effort to further research and develop the use of our swine as potential donors of cells, tissue and organs for humans. We have made significant progress over the past few years in understanding the basic mechanisms underlying transplantation tolerance. The need to make animal organ transplantation a reality requires the completely dedicated effort of a unique group of scientists. We believe that Immerge, as it brings together Novartis' and BioTransplant's research in this field in a new and dedicated entity, will be a leader in this challenging area, utilizing expertise in the control of the immune system to treat end stage organ failure.''
Immerge BioTherapeutics is based in Boston and will share support functions with BioTransplant. Dr. Greenstein, formerly BioTransplant's Chief Scientific Officer will lead the new company, which will initially engage twenty people in its programs.
Paul Herrling, Head of Global Research for Novartis Pharma, explained, ``The beginning of operations at Immerge BioTherapeutics signals the joint commitment of Novartis and BioTransplant to achieving clinical and commercial success for xenotransplantation based on their ongoing multi-year collaboration. By combining our respective expertise into one new independent company fully focused on the science and safety of xenotransplantation, we look forward to providing a potentially life-saving option to the thousands of people awaiting organ transplantation.''
``Immerge BioTherapeutics creates a company focused on xenotransplantation. This enhances BioTransplant's ability to attain commercial value from xenotransplantation based products, while allowing BioTransplant to strengthen its focus on human cell transplantation with applications in cancer and other life threatening diseases,'' said Elliot Lebowitz, Ph.D., CEO and President of BioTransplant.
BioTransplant and Novartis had earlier announced the formation of Immerge BioTherapeutics on September 26, 2000. The new company is 67% owned by Novartis and 33% by BioTransplant. Novartis retains the rights to commercialization of research from the new company in return for contributing its technology and financial support. BioTransplant will also contribute technology to Immerge and will receive royalty payments from future Novartis' sales of products, which result from the joint venture. |
