NYSCF Inks Strategic Partnership with Ngene Therapeutics

Research teams will use stem cell and gene editing technologies to advance cell-based therapies for devastating diseases

New York, New York (January 9, 2019) – The New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Research Institute today announced a partnership with Ngene Therapeutics Inc. (Ngene) to develop new disease treatments that leverage human stem cell research and novel gene editing techniques. NYSCF will serve as a key partner to Ngene in stem cell derivation and differentiation towards the generation of high-quality cell lines for disease research and of clinical-grade, good manufacturing practice (GMP) cell lines for cell-based therapies.

Ngene, a newly-founded joint venture between the gene editing company ToolGen and the biomedical company nSAGE, is dedicated to creating novel and effective gene-editing-based stem cell therapies for acute alcoholic hepatitis, various neuroinflammatory indications, and other diseases. The NYSCF Research Institute is a pioneer and acknowledged leader in stem cell technology, having developed the NYSCF Global Stem Cell Array^TM, the premier automated robotic platform for reprogramming adult cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). In 2018, NYSCF began a collaboration with ToolGen and nSAGE that integrates gene editing and stem cell technologies to develop new treatments, and its partnership with Ngene represents a continuation of this work.

“Our mission is to bring lifesaving treatments to patients around the world and we are delighted to further this goal in partnership with ToolGen, nSAGE, and Ngene,” says NYSCF CEO and co-founder Susan L. Solomon. “It is critical that we collaborate with partners using our technology and expertise to bring innovative treatments to the market.”

“We are thrilled to collaborate with NYSCF and ToolGen to develop novel stem cell products that leverage the ongoing evolution of gene editing technology,” says Bonghee Lee, CEO of Ngene. “By establishing our corporation in Maryland, Ngene hopes to chart the leading edge of biomedical innovation by conquering intractable diseases with next-generation stem cells and their derivatives.”

Ngene offices will be located in Rockville, Maryland, in close vicinity to the National Institutes of Health and Food and Drug Administration.

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About The New York Stem Cell Foundation Research Institute

The New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Research Institute is an independent non-profit organization accelerating cures and better treatments for patients through stem cell research. The NYSCF global community includes over 160 researchers at leading institutions worldwide, including the NYSCF – Druckenmiller Fellows, the NYSCF – Robertson Investigators, the NYSCF – Robertson Stem Cell Prize Recipients, and NYSCF Research Institute scientists and engineers. The NYSCF Research Institute is an acknowledged world leader in stem cell research and in developing pioneering stem cell technologies, including the NYSCF Global Stem Cell Array^TM and in manufacturing stem cells for scientists around the globe. NYSCF focuses on translational research in an accelerator model designed to overcome barriers that slow discovery and replace silos with collaboration. For more information, visit www.nyscf.org.

About Ngene Therapeutics Inc.

Ngene Therapeutics Inc. is a joint venture company between ToolGen and nSAGE pursuing global industrialization of genetically engineered stem cells and their related products based on CRISPR/Cas9 technology. Based on nSAGE’s long history of stem cell engineering, Ngene expects to develop optimized, safe, and homogenous stem cells by combining ToolGen’s CRISPR/Cas9 technology with cell lines produced by the NYSCF Global Stem Cell Array^TM. Ngene will initially target inflammation-mediated intractable diseases including acute hepatitis, neuroinflammatory diseases, and burn.       

About ToolGen, Inc.

ToolGen, Inc. (KONEX 199800) is a biotechnology company focused on the development and application of genome editing technologies. It creates and holds intellectual property rights for essential tools and technologies for editing the genetic information in microbial, plant, animal, and human cells. ToolGen’s mission is to translate the potential of its innovative platform technology into transformative products for biomedicine and agriculture. For more information, please visit www.toolgen.com.

About nSAGE, Inc.

nSAGE, Inc (nSAGE) is the University-based biomedical company pursuing global industrialization of gene engineered stem cells and their related products using CRISPR/Cas9 technology in Korea. nSAGE has a long R&D history of proteomics and gene engineering in stem cells with global big companies. nSAGE’s core technologies are generation of primed stem cells and their exosomes through single cell level analysis. The major therapeutic target of nSAGE is macrophage and inflammation mediated intractable diseases.