Scimitar Equity Blog

LSE: RENE.L has signed a patent and know-how license agreement with Schepens Eye Research Institute Boston, US, regarding the ReN003 stem cell therapy program focused on diseases of the retina.
ReNeuron has been collaborating with Schepens in the early development of its human retinal precursor cells (hRPCs). 

• Schepens (a leading US eye research institute to develop stem cell therapies for diseases of the retina) and  an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, recently announced that it is to join forces with the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston to create the world’s largest pre-clinical and clinical ophthalmology research centre.

Under the agreement, ReNeuron will take responsibility for the funding of the ReN003 program and will pay Schepens license maintenance fees, together with milestone and royalty payments based on clinical and commercial success with the therapies developed.  The initial phase of ReNeuron’s collaboration with Schepens has benefited from an industrial grant from a major US specialty healthcare company and ReNeuron intends to build upon this program-specific funding as further late pre-clinical data emerges over the coming months.

 The Bottom Line: Based on the successful results of this initial collaboration, through this license agreement, RENE secured the relevant intellectual property rights to develop and commercialize its hRPCs in the field of human retinal stem cell therapeutics.  RENE will continue to collaborate closely with lead investigator, Dr Michael Young and his team at Schepens to take ReN003 program through late pre-clinical development and into an initial clinical trial in the US in patients suffering from retinitis pigmentosa, a blindness-causing disease caused by degeneration of the photoreceptor cells in the retina.  Researchers at Schepens have already published data describing the ability of the hRPCs to integrate with host retinal tissue in rodent models of damaged retina and differentiate into the light-sensitive rod cells found in healthy retina.  Subsequently, a novel and highly efficient proprietary cell expansion process has recently been optimized which does not involve genetic modification or other similar manipulation of the hRPCs.  This expansion technology is currently being employed to grow and bank clinical-grade hRPCs to the quantities required for future clinical studies.