Gamida Cell Ltd. Cell Therapy Technologies

Development of expanded stem cell therapies for the treatment of blood cancers, cardiac disease and diabetes

The company was founded by Tony Peled. Teva Pharmaceuticals invested $3M in Gamida Cell in Spring 2003. In Spring 2005, Teva invested up to an additional $25 million in a joint venture with Gamida Cell to develop and market StemEx®, the company’s flagship product.

Yael Margolin, Dr., President & CEO
Tony Peled, Founder, VP and CTO
Frida Grynspan, VP, R&D
Yaron Daniely, Dr., Vice President, Business Development
Yael Cohen, Dr., VP, Head of Clinical Development
Naftali Brikashvili, Head of Finance
Arik Hasson, Dr., Head of the Stem Cell Consortium Projects

Harvey Cohen, Prof., Ph.D
Joanne Kurtzberg, Prof., M.D.
Pablo Rubinstein, Prof., M.D.
Cladd Stevens, M.D., Dr.
Eliane Gluckman, Prof., M.D.
Ronald Hoffman, Prof., M.D.
Elizabeth Shpall, Prof., M.D.
Guillermo F. Sanz, Prof., M.D.
Mary J. Laughlin, Prof., MD
Arnon Nagler, Prof., M.D.
Shmuel Fuchs, Dr., M.D.
Mary M. Horowitz, Prof.

PO Box 34670
Jerusalem 91340
Israel
Phone: +972-54-536-5220

Gamida Cell Ltd. has developed proprietary technologies for the ex-vivo expansion of stem and progenitor cells. For doing so, the company is utilising low molecular weight compounds which regulate physiological pathways of cell differentiation. The company’s TEPA technology, involving the specific modulation of cooper ions, is currently undergoing clinical investigation. It has been shown that the reduction of cellular copper delays differentiation and prolongs self-renewal, whereas the elevation of cellular copper accelerates differentiation and reduces the cells’ self-renewal potential.

Gamida Cell’s proprietary technology is based on a low molecular weight copper chelator which reduces intracellular copper. It therefore delays differentiation and enables the expansion of progenitor and stem cells. StemEx® is the company’s flagship product. It is composed of non-expanded and ex vivo expanded cord blood stem/progenitor cells. Phase I/II trials have shown efficacy of the treatment of leaukaemia and lymphoma. In 2005, StemEx® received FDA Orphan Drug Designation. Additional studies are underway for investigating the use of the company’s technology for the treatment of diabetes.

A Phase I/II cardiac repair study involving e.g. patients with chronic refractory angina is planned for 2006 investigating whether results obtained in animals can be repeated in patients. Experiments, involving injections of expanded populations of human bone marrow stem cells or cord blood stem cells, showed that they are able to restore cardiac function in animals that had suffered a heart attack.

The following section contains a selection of the company’s most relevant patents. For comprehensive patent information please refer to the espacenet databases.