Paragon Biosciences, a life science innovator that creates, invests in and builds life science companies in biopharmaceuticals, cell and gene therapy and synthetic biology utilizing artificial intelligence, today announced the acquisition of CiRC Biosciences, a cell therapy company developing treatments for serious diseases with high, unmet needs with an initial focus on the eye.
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CHICAGO, Feb. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Paragon Biosciences, a life science innovator that creates, invests in and builds life science companies in biopharmaceuticals, cell and gene therapy and synthetic biology utilizing artificial intelligence, today announced the acquisition of CiRC Biosciences, a cell therapy company developing treatments for serious diseases with high, unmet needs with an initial focus on the eye. "The addition of CiRC Biosciences to our portfolio builds upon our cell and gene therapy platform, an area that has tremendous potential to address serious genetic diseases," said Jeff Aronin, founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Paragon Biosciences. "CiRC gives us the science to target retinal diseases that could lead to vision restoration with numerous other applications in the years ahead." CiRC Biosciences is currently advancing pre-clinical development of chemically induced retinal cells for vision restoration in Geographic Atrophy Age-Related Macular Degeneration (Dry AMD), which is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss over the age of 65, and advanced Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), a genetic disorder that causes tunnel vision and eventual blindness. There are no U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approved treatments to restore vision loss in Dry AMD or RP. The company's novel mechanism of action is designed for direct chemical conversion of fibroblasts into other cell types using a cocktail of small molecules in an 11-day chemical conversion process. Pre-clinical studies have shown efficacy in blind mice that demonstrated vision restoration. CiRC Biosciences filed provisional patent applications to protect its platform. "Our technology transforms ordinary skin cells into specialized retinal cells using a cocktail of small molecules," said Sai Chavala, M.D., co-founder and chief scientific officer of CiRC Biosciences. "This process is potentially safer, quicker, more cost effective and easier to manufacturer than using traditional stem cells." CiRC Biosciences first reported its discovery in the highly respected scientific journal Nature (April 15, 2020). A recently published New England Journal of Medicine article (Nov. 5, 2020) discussed CiRC's technology of using chemically induced cells to restore retinal function. The article concluded that "The new and emerging strategies for the rescue, regeneration, and replacement of photoreceptors suggest a bright future in the fight to preserve and restore vision in blinding eye diseases." The abstract in Nature is available here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2201-4 Access to the NEJM article is available here: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMcibr2027602 About CiRC Biosciences About Paragon Biosciences Media Contact: Evelyn M. O'Connor
SOURCE Paragon Biosciences |
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