By Max Bayer – Fierce Pharma
Just a week after Vertex’s stem cell therapy to treat type 1 diabetes was released from an FDA clinical hold, the company is clearing out potential competition by buying ViaCyte for $320 million.
The all-cash deal announced Monday throws a net around ViaCyte’s stem cell-based treatment for type 1 diabetes, which has been in a neck-and-neck clinical development race with Vertex’s VX-880. But possibly more important than the asset itself, Vertex now has a hold of the intellectual property and science behind the company’s programs.
Similar to Vertex, ViaCyte has been developing a diabetes treatment by converting immature stem cells into pancreatic cells, referred to as PEC-01, a manufacturing process that takes about 30 days. Once the cells are produced, they’re implanted into patients and mature into beta cells and other islet cells that help to independently monitor glucose levels. The company has three programs underway testing PEC-01, which span two different delivery methods.