Geron and Hong Kong's Biotechnology Research Corporation form strategic alliance for Telomerase activation therapies
Geron Corporation and the biotechnology Research Corporation (BRC) of Hong Kong announced the formation of a new company, TA Therapeutics Limited (TAT), in Hong Kong. The company will conduct research and commercially develop products that utilize telomerase activator drugs to restore the regenerative and functional capacity of cells in various organ systems that have been impacted by senescence, injury or chronic disease. Geron and collaborating scientists have generated evidence that telomerase activation can restore function in certain aged or diseased tissues.
TAT will be owned 50% by Geron and 50% by BRC, a company established by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), Geron's research partner. Geron is contributing scientific leadership, development expertise, intellectual property and capital to the new company. BRC is also providing scientific leadership, a research team, capital and laboratory facilities.
"We are very pleased to announce this important strategic event," said David L. Greenwood, Geron's executive vice president. "We first initiated a scientific collaboration on telomerase activation with the Biotechnology Research Institute of HKUST in 2000. It was productive. Our teams have discovered two small molecule compounds that activate telomerase in human in vitro models of chronic and infectious diseases, including AIDS. The potential therapeutic opportunities are numerous and large. We, and our partner, agreed to create and capitalize a new company to aggressively pursue further research with the intent of developing the compounds into commercial products."
Other news from the department science
