TORONTO (Reuters) – German chemicals and healthcare group Bayer said it had set up a joint venture with U.S. life sciences venture capital firm Versant Ventures to invest $225 million in stem cell therapy technology. The companies said the financing, one of the largest ever Series A for a biotech company, would allow the venture to develop a number of projects with an initial focus on cardiovascular diseases and neurodegenerative disorders. “We are launching this enterprise to develop transformative and curative therapies for patients based on the latest stem cell technology,” Kemal Malik, who is responsible for innovation at Bayer, said in a statement on Monday. The companies said BlueRock Therapeutics’ manufacturing platform will be set up through a partnership with Toronto-based CCRM, a firm which develops regenerative medicine technologies, and cell and gene therapies. BlueRock Therapeutics will have research and development operations in Toronto, New York and Boston, the companies said. (Reporting by Matt Scuffham; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
From : news.yahoo.com