BioWorld International Correspondent

LONDON - Celltran Ltd. and Innogenetics NV announced they are in talks about combining their skin replacement cell therapy businesses, but they did not give any information on the nature of the deal, saying the details are yet to be finalized.

"We are expecting to conclude this during the third quarter of this year, but the structure is not finalized as yet," David Haddow, operations director of Sheffield, UK-based Celltran, told BioWorld International.

The planned deal would bring together privately held Celltran with Innogenetics' wound care arm, XCELLentis.

While Celltran's autologous skin replacement therapy, myskin, is marketed in the UK, XCELLentis has an allogenic product, Lyphoderm, which consists of freeze-dried cultured skin cells, in Phase II development.

Haddow said the technologies and products of the two companies are complementary. "The mix of autologous and allogenic therapies gives a very good combined fit," he said. While myskin is manufactured to order at the company's GMP facility in Sheffield, XCELLentis' Lyphoderm is available off the shelf.

Haddow said both products are very effective clinically, and the choice of which one to use would depend on the needs of each patient and the opinions of their doctors.

Celltran was spun out of Sheffield University in 2000, and has since raised £4 million (US$7.4 million). The largest shareholder with 26.8 percent is Sheffield, UK-based BioFusion plc, a quoted technology management company that has exclusive rights to commercialize life sciences research carried out at Sheffield University. Celltran's key intellectual property is not in its cell culture methods, but in the surface that is used to deliver the cells.

To date, the product has been used mainly in the treatment of chronic wounds and burns, but Haddow said there are other potential applications, and Celltran is in talks with potential licensees.

XCELLentis was spun out by Innogenetics, of Ghent, Belgium, in February 2001 as a wholly owned subsidiary.