Novartis signs kidney transplant deal with Regenerex

A new global licensing and research collaboration has been agreed between Novartis and biopharmaceutical company Regenerex LLC.

This collaboration reaffirms the Novartis commitment to transplant. Regenerex has a novel Facilitating Cell Therapy (FCRx) platform, which has been investigated in kidney transplantation to induce stable immunological tolerance, resulting in graft survival without the need for lifelong immunosuppression. FCRx will broaden the current Novartis cell therapy portfolio, which includes two novel cell therapy platforms initially being investigated in hematological malignancies.

"As the field of biomedicine sits on the cusp of a new transformation, we are excited to announce this agreement which supports the Novartis leadership position in cell therapy. Thirty years ago, Novartis developed ciclosporin, which changed transplantation treatment paradigms and enabled countless lives to be saved. Now, this collaboration, along with our internal cell therapy assets, has the potential to transform medicine once again through innovation."

Dr. Timothy Wright, Global Head Development, Novartis Pharmaceuticals.

Beyond transplant, Regenerex's novel platform potentially has curative potential for multiple underserved diseases and will be investigated in the rescue of serious genetic deficiencies such as inherited metabolic storage disorders and hemoglobinopathies.