Greffex, Inc. and the Greffex Group announce strategic alliance framework with UPMC/ISMETT

Greffex’s innovation in preventing immune rejection has been built upon the company’s proprietary fully deleted, helper virus-independent adenoviral vector, which will soon be implemented therapeutically for hepatocyte and kidney transplantation. Greffex and UPMC/ISMETT have agreed to jointly investigate Greffex's approach to immune suppression at ISMETT, one of the world’s foremost transplantation centers.

A fully integrated biopharmaceutical company, Greffex, Inc. was founded to develop therapies for previously untreatable diseases and conditions. Greffex’s scientists have since advanced therapies across multiple disease platforms, overcoming immune interference in regenerative treatments such as gene and transplantation therapy.

Greffex created and patented the only fully deleted, helper virus-independent adenoviral vector capable of mitigating immune risks inherent in early-generation adenoviral vectors. This innovation also overcomes previous viral vector technologies’ limitations, such as reduced therapeutic efficacy, limited transgene capacity, intrinsic viral toxicity and inferior production efficiency.

Greffex’s second set of patented technologies, Engineered Veto©, utilizes Greffex's novel adenoviral vector architecture to modify tissues and organs, thereby evading immune rejection and reducing the need for general immunosuppressive drugs.

The company has been applying its proprietary vectors to develop gene therapy models for Cystic Fibrosis, Parkinson’s disease and Hemophilia A. Furthermore, Greffex has developed a new generation of adenovirally vectored influenza vaccines that address objections to earlier adenoviral vaccines.

The company’s products are based on its fully deleted, helper virus-independent adenoviral vector technology. Greffex’s offerings include custom production of novel adenoviral vectors for third parties; GrE.3©, a proprietary cell line capable of producing stabilized adenoviral virions at a level far superior to existing lines; and reagents for the study of adenoviral and influenza viruses.

Greffex’s worldwide science development and its US laboratories in Denver, Colorado, are led by Uwe D. Staerz, MD, PhD. Its international operations, under the direction of John R. Price, MPA, are located in Amsterdam, Netherlands and Milan, Italy, with US headquarters in Denver, Colorado.

Posted on February 19, 2010