More PR on BioTherapeutics and Ifigen deal
2 firms take crack at pig transplants
Two biotech companies have formed a partnership to clone genetically modified pigs as a way of harvesting tissue and organs for human transplants.
Immerge BioTherapeutics and Ifigen Inc. hope to rid pigs of the enzymes that trigger violent immune reactions in humans and the viruses that might cause disease, creating a safe source of organs for the thousands of people waiting for hearts, livers and kidneys.
Infigen Inc. of Wisconsin is one of only a few groups worldwide to have successfully cloned piglets. And earlier this year, it became the first company to clone a transgenic pig, said Julia Greenstein, president and chief executive of Immerge BioTherapeutics of Massachusetts.
Although creating a transgenic pig is a type of genetic modification, it uses a different process from the one the companies will need to knock out the genes responsible for causing problem viruses and enzymes. No such "knock-out" pig has ever been cloned. "Each step is more difficult than the last," Greenstein said. "But we've picked the leader in this technology."
For nearly two decades, scientists have been studying pigs as a potential source of organs to replace those that are failing in humans. Surprisingly, pigs are biologically similar to humans and carry fewer deadly diseases than primates.
But the research has been riddled with setbacks, prompting some companies to abandon the field, known as xenotransplantation. Scientists still grapple with how to prevent the human body from rejecting animal tissue and ensure the organs don't transmit
disease. "Xenotransplantation has been on the ropes for a while," said Michael Ehrenreich, president of Techvest LLC.
Despite the scientific hurdles, Greenstein is optimistic that the companies will achieve their goal within three years, paving the way for Immerge BioTherapeutics to test the pig organs in primates and eventually humans.
The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The companies will receive a $1.7 million grant from the Commerce Department's National Institute for Science and Technology. And Immerge will pay Infigen licensing fees and research money for three years, as well as milestone payments.
Immerge was formed last year as a joint venture between BioTransplant Inc. of Charlestown, Mass., and Novartis Pharmaceuticals to commercialize pig organs for human transplants. Novartis promised to provide $30 million over three years to the venture.
BioTransplant began creating a highly inbred species of miniature swine nearly a decade ago to create a pool of potential organs as genetically similar as possible. The pigs, which weigh about 250 pounds each, were screened for more than two dozen viruses and infectious diseases.
The joint venture's goal is to start testing pig organs in humans in 2004. Such testing, and later commercial transplants, would require approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
In addition to breeding or cloning pigs, Immerge also is working on ways to prevent people from rejecting pig tissue and organs by re-educating the immune system and increasing the body's tolerance for foreign cells.
More than 75,000 people nationwide are on waiting lists for organs, and thousands die each year while they wait.
"That overwhelming need is what continues to drive our interest in xenotransplantation," Greenstein said.
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