Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Advanced Cell brings in $400K in new funding

By Mass High Tech staff

Worcester-based biotech Advanced Cell Technology Inc. reports that it has taken in $400,000 in additional funding in a number of recent deals, which the company will use to advance its use of stem cells for treatments of diseases of the eye.

Part of the funding came through the receipt of the final payment from Korean biotech CHA Biotech Co. Ltd., for its recently formed international joint venture with ACT called Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine International.

In December, ACT (OTC:ACTC) and CHA Biotech formed the stem cell technology development company, which is also based in Worcester. The international joint venture will use ACT’s hemangioblast cell technology to develop human blood cells and was originally called Allied Cell Technology.

Additional funding came in the form of research grants from the National Institutes of Health for amounts that were not disclosed.

ACT is focusing its efforts and the new funding on its retinal pigment epithelium cells (RPE) program, which chairman and CEO William M. Caldwell says has “potential therapeutic impact on some 200 different retinal disease conditions.” The company says it plans to file an Investigational New Drug application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration during the second half of this year.