Recent Developments
PPL Therapeutics announced in February 2004, that it had sold its rights to gene-targeting patents to Revivicor for 80,000₤. It had also recently sold its 1 million shares in Revivicor for 213,000₤.
In November 2004, Revivicor purchased rights to Geron Corporation's nuclear transfer technology for animal cloning in exchange for equity interest in Revivicor and future royalties. In June 2005, Revivicor purchased essentially all of the IP and tangible assets of XenoTrans Ltd. (XTL), an Australian company also focused on xenotransplantation technology. In September 2005 a partnership with Zimmer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE and SWX: ZMH), a worldwide leader in the orthopedics industry, was announced. Zimmer acquired worldwide exclusive distribution rights for genetically engineered xenogeneic tissues for regenerative therapies from Revivicor, Inc. and announced plans to develop the technologies for orthopedic applications, including the repair and replacement of damaged tendon, ligament, meniscus, cartilage, bone and spinal nucleus tissues.
It appears from these news briefs, that stem cell research has taken a back seat to other projects. Receiving extra attention in 2006 was production of insulin-producing pancreatic cells in pigs, ultimately intended for transplantation in humans. The technology had been shown to work in monkeys and a media frenzy arose over the possible cure for diabetes.
Shifting priorities are to be expected in any biotech startup of this size, and will likely follow the wave of success of research that shows a higher immediate possibility of generating revenue. In the case of Revivicor, the success of its gene knockout technology and cloning projects, and successful partnerships like the one with Zimmer likely overshadowed the potential of the stem cell project, especially in light of announcements by the South Koreans, in early 2004.
In November 2005, just before Dr. Hwang Woo Suk’s confession in Korea, CEO Dr. David Ayares reported to the Virginia Legislative General Assembly joint subcommittee study on medical ethical and scientific issues relating to stem cell research. According to the meeting highlights, Revivicor found stem cell development from the pig skin fibroblasts was limited and cultures did not prove to be “immortal”. The grant from ATP ran out before the research goal was achieved, but in Dr. Ayares’ opinion, much was learned and the concept is still viable and should continue to be investigated.
I agree, especially in light of an announcement from a group at the University of Guelph, ON, Canada, in April 2006, that they had produced egg-like (oocyte-like) cells from skin cells of fetal pigs (Nature Cell Biology). Thus the research continues, and I wonder if we can expect similar reports on the progress of the de-differentiation project, in the near future from Revivicor.
