Marlborough’s Ocata Therapeutics announced Tuesday a licensing agreement with Allele Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals of San Diego.
The agreement will give Ocata access to technology in the area of human-induced, pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) that Ocata believes will help it develop treatments for eye disorders.
“This agreement with Allele is part of our strategy to broaden our technology platform and increase our leadership in regenerative ophthalmology,” Paul Wotton, president and CEO of Ocata, said in the statement. “Ocata can now take advantage of induced and embryonic pluripotent stem cells to produce commercially viable human tissue for transplantation.”
Wotton said Ocata, formerly Advanced Cell Technology, “recently confirmed proof of concept in creating photoreceptors capable of preventing blindness and restoring vision in established animal models. Data from these studies will be published later this year.”
The statement from Ocata said the “footprint-free” reprogramming technology developed by Allele “potentially offers a reliable and scalable process for producing iPSCs with superior properties and is a major step for translation of iPSC technology to practical clinical use.”
