On October 4, 2022 Pluristyx, panCELLa, and Implant Therapeutics management reported their corporate merger, pending shareholder approval (Press release, panCELLa, OCT 4, 2022, View Source [SID1234621763]). The merged company will combine complementary portfolios to offer end-to-end customer support and provide increased access to a wide range of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-related products and services. The integrated technological and service offerings will greatly accelerate the development and delivery of revolutionary cell therapies to patients.
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This merger announcement follows their successful partnership in January 2022 which enables streamlined access to the next generation of safe, universal, cost-effective, "off-the-shelf" iPSCs. Pluristyx/panCELLa’s iPSCs are generated through a proprietary mRNA-based technology and are conveniently available in a ‘try-before-you-buy’ research evaluation model requiring low up-front licensing fees. Packaged in Pluristyx’s Ready-to-Differentiate format, iPSCs containing panCELLa’s FailSafe and hypoimmunogenic technologies offer customers, at any stage of product development, the ability to rapidly assess and select lines for further development and manufacturing. Since Plurisytx/panCELLa iPSC’s are sourced from clinical-grade material, commercial partners can readily transition from development to therapeutic manufacturing.
Regarding this merger, Mahendra Rao, Co-Chairman of the Board at panCELLa and CEO of Implant Therapeutics, commented, "We are extremely excited to be joining forces with Pluristyx. From the start of our collaboration, it was clear that the expertise and strong track record in cell therapy development within the Pluristyx team was the perfect fit to maximize the customer benefit from our technologies. By coming together, we can offer clients an industry-leading suite of technologies and services for the next generation of cell therapies."
Benjamin Fryer, Chief Executive Officer, Pluristyx said: "In discussions with customers, it became evident that panCELLa’s hypoimmune and FailSafe technologies are seen as industry gold-standards. This merger takes us one step farther in our journey to become the leading provider of iPSC and cell therapy solutions for research, diagnostic, and clinical applications. Together with the expertise and technology portfolio of panCELLa, we can now provide a full suite of tools and provide the fastest path to gene-edited iPSC-based therapies."
The merged companies will retain the Pluristyx name with panCELLa becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Pluristyx. Benjamin Fryer will continue as the Chief Executive Officer and Mahendra Rao will take on the role of Chief Science Officer. Current Pluristyx and panCELLa executives will maintain their roles with Jason Carstens as the Chief Operating Officer, Brian Hawkins as the Chief Technology Officer, Kaye Reiter as General Counsel, Jake Krembil as VP of Business Development/Toronto Site Lead, and James Laing as VP of Finance.