SCM Lifescience has agreed to license a diabetes drug that uses pancreatic beta cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from San Diego-based company Allele Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals, the South Korean stem cell therapy developer announced Thursday.
The transaction value is $ 750,000 based on prepayment and could be up to $ 3 million depending on future development milestones.
Under the terms of the agreement, SCM Lifescience will have the exclusive rights to develop, approve, manufacture and distribute allele diabetes therapy in Korea. The two companies announced a joint research and development agreement on the pipeline in 2019.
Because iPSCs can be obtained from adult human tissue cells, they not only avoid the need for embryos or other ethically charged cells, but can also be customized so that each individual could have their own pluripotent stem cell line for treatment purposes.
With the agreement, SCM Lifescience can expand its pipeline to include iPSC-based therapies. The Korean company has carried out R&D activities focusing on adult stem cells.
Last week, SCM Lifescience invested in Vita Therapeutics, a US biotech company developing an iPSC-based therapy for the treatment of rare hereditary diseases of the muscle system.
SCM Lifescience said iPSC-based diabetes therapies could replace insulin injections, which are painful and uncomfortable due to the higher dosing frequency.
By Park Yoon-gyun and Minu Kim
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