TOULOUSE, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cell-Easy secures 1M€ capital investment and appoints Pierre Monsan as CEO. Thanks to its ground-breaking mesenchymal stem-cell large scale manufacturing process, Cell-Easy is set to democratise regenerative therapy, making treatments more affordable. The opening of its pharmaceutical plant is planned for the beginning of 2020 and the production of the first clinical batch later in the year.
Affordable treatments thanks to large scale manufacturing
Based on the principles of cell therapy, regenerative medicine is shaking traditional medicine, offering treatments for previously incurable diseases. Taking by storm this fast growing market, the start-up Cell-Easy has raised 1M€ investment from private investors and experts and secured the appointment of Pierre Monsan as CEO and CSO (Chief Scientific Officer).
Pierre Monsan is Professor Emeritus at the INSA, Toulouse and Founder of Toulouse White Biotechnology (TWB) and of the French Federation of Biotechnology. He is confident in the future of this new entrepreneurial venture. He explains : ‘Regenerative therapy is an international fast growing market. However it remains immature due to the limitations of stem cells manufacturing capabilities and the cost of treatments that still remains very high. Our ambition is to industrialise the manufacturing process to accelerate the use of stem cells in regenerative medicine and to become the market leader’.
Despite the huge clinical potential of regenerative therapy, access to treatments and the cost remain major obstacles to its development. ‘Today only the very rich can access cell therapy. Treatments can cost up to 350K€ per patient ! By streamlining the manufacturing process of stem cells, the major opportunity we’re offering is to industrialise the process associated with a very competitive cost price. Large scale stem cell manufacturing can cut costs by 10, maybe 100.” Pierre Monsan adds.
A unique ‘stem cell factory’ in Europe
To be able to manufacture stem cell batches on a large scale, Cell-Easy has the latest research equipment and labs, built in accordance to the GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) standards. They will open in the first quarter of 2020. By the end of 2020 the production capacity will reach 10 000 doses /year compared to its competitors producing a few hundred doses /year. Cell-Easy is planning to secure further capital investment to scale-up stem cell manufacturing and its international commercialisation.
