ViaCell to collaborate with Centocor on using stem cells to treat cardiac disease

By E. Janene Geiss

Philadelphia, June 13 - ViaCell, Inc. said Tuesday that it signed a cardiac collaboration agreement with the stem cell internal venture of Centocor Research and Development, Inc. to evaluate ViaCell's proprietary cord blood-derived multi-potent stem cells as a potential treatment for cardiac disease in preclinical testing.

The collaboration also is supported by the Biologics Delivery Systems Group of Cordis Corp. and will focus on dosing, delivery and targeting of ViaCell's expanded proprietary cord blood stem cells using Cordis' NOGA delivery system, according to a company news release.

Centocor and Cordis are both Johnson & Johnson companies.

Under the agreement, ViaCell said it will receive an initial upfront payment and the companies will share costs associated with the collaborative efforts.

The agreement also provides the stem cell venture with the first right to negotiate a collaboration with ViaCell on the clinical development and commercialization of a cardiac product offering based on ViaCell's proprietary cord blood stem cells, officials said.

If the preclinical data support further development, ViaCell said it expects to file an Investigational New Drug application in 2007.

ViaCell is a Cambridge, Mass., biotechnology company focused on enabling the widespread use of human cells as medicine.

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