Bioprocessing consortium receives

A consortium led by ReNeuron and including RegenTec, Angel Biotechnology, the Institute of Psychiatry and Kings College London, has been awarded a £2.1m grant from the UK Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for stem cell development therapy.

The grant will fund a three-year stem cell bioprocessing project entitled 'Therapeutic Products from Human Stem Cells', where Angel Biotech will be entrusted with establishing the capability to manufacture stem cell banks to GMP standards for clinical trials and for their application as therapeutic products.

The aim of the project is to utilise the specific r&d and commercial expertise of the consortium members to develop and manufacture stem cell therapeutics for clinical and subsequent commercial application to address neurodegenerative diseases such as stroke, Huntington's and Parkinson's disease.

Stuart Duncan, Angel ceo, said: 'We are delighted about the award of this grant which demonstrates the commitment of the Government to bioprocessing. We are creating world-class GMP facilities supported by an experienced team to take the project forward. The technologies complement our other activities and strengths and will play an important role in the development of the company. The potential for the products of this research is enormous and we hope to be able to contribute to the clinical solutions anticipated, in conjunction with the other consortium members.'

Angel Biotechnology is an r&d and contract manufacturing company specialising in microbial strain development and cGMP manufacture of recombinant proteins and antibodies in microbial and mammalian expressions systems. The company was established in 2001 and has laboratory and manufacturing facilities in Cramlington and Edinburgh.