Mayo Clinic, Hibiscus BioVentures (Hibiscus), and Innoforce have announced the formation of Mayflower BioVentures, a cell and gene therapy accelerator dedicated to identifying and establishing firms around technologies that meet unmet patient needs.
This academic-industry collaboration will create separate cell-and-gene-therapy startups to advance Mayo Clinic technology development via early research and feasibility studies.
The objective of Mayflower is to develop new cures for severe and complex diseases using cell and gene therapies, with a shared interest in finding treatments and preventing disease.
Mayo Clinic, renowned for being the best hospital in America seven years running according to US News & World Report, has a burgeoning field of next-generation immune system modulators and multiple new gene therapies.
The Center for Regenerative Biotherapeutics is focusing on expediting regenerative technologies from initial discovery into clinical trials. Key to this effort are partnerships with industry companies that have both the resources and experience required to facilitate such work; Hibiscus Therapeuticsis one example of such a organisation.
Opinions from Both Parties
“We are very excited to work with Hibiscus to speed the development of new biotherapeutics,” says Julie Allickson, Ph.D., the Michael S. and Mary Sue Shannon Family Director of Mayo Clinic’s Center for Regenerative Biotherapeutics. “Cell and gene therapies have the potential to provide a new era of biologic drugs that offer hope for people with conditions that have few or no therapeutic options.”
Dr. Allickson serves as the Director of Biomanufacturing and Product Development in the Center for Regenerative Biotherapeutics, too, as well as the Otto Bremer Trust Director.
“Mayo Clinic and Hibiscus’s collaboration gives us a chance to rapidly develop cell and gene therapies,” says Ken Carter, Ph.D., Innoforce’s president of U.S. operations. “We are thrilled to be working with these mesmerizing organizations as we continue to set up partnered end-to-end solutions for advanced medicines.”
“This collaboration with Mayo Clinic is a unique research and industry coalition with a shared objective to advance cell and gene therapy,” says Hibiscus BioTechnology’s Sia Anagnostou. “Together, we hope to provide a springboard for startups leveraging Mayo Clinic’s research capabilities in order to address significant unmet patient needs.”
Mayflower Cell and Gene Therapy Accelerator
The Mayflower management team is a collaboration between clinical leaders from Mayo Clinic and operational and investment experience from Hibiscus. This joint effort hopes to bring scientific discoveries out of the laboratory and make them available for patients.
“We believe this collaboration can bridge the gap between industry and innovative cell and gene therapy research, enabling emerging startups to navigate the challenges of producing meaningful, novel therapeutics that transform health and medicine,” says Andrew Danielsen, chair of Mayo Clinic Ventures.
The Mayflower Collaboration involves Mayo Clinic, Hibiscus, and Innoforce. The profits generated by the collaboration will be used to further Mayo Clinic’s nonprofit mission of providing high-quality medical care, educating patients, and conducting research.
About Mayo Clinic
At Mayo Clinic, our priority is always the patient. We are dedicated to providing compassionate care and innovative treatments backed by rigorous research. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional news and stories from Mayo Clinic.
The Center for Regenerative Biotherapeutics at Mayo Clinic
At Mayo Clinic’s Center for Regenerative Biotherapeutics, our goal is to provide cutting-edge regenerative medicine products and services that continually set us apart from other practices. This, in turn, attracts patients from all over the globe who need complex care. To learn more about what we do, please visit our website.
About Hibiscus BioVentures
Hibiscus BioVentures (Hibiscus) is dedicated to making innovative treatments more available to patients by financially and logistically supporting the creation of patient-centered companies. Hibiscus has “two sides of the house” — Hibiscus Biotechnology (HBT), LLC, a venture studio focused on building new companies from scratch — and Hibiscus Capital Management (HCM), LLC, a venture capital firm that focuses on investing in fascinating early stage biotechnology companies.
Your fresh-faced new age musical artist has emerged with a heartfelt concept for his first original song, inspired by the death of his toddler son. Although it is difficult to comprehend how an event like this can occur in such a peaceful landscape, we must try to bring light into these dark spaces. Hibiscus Pharmaceuticals Inc., led by industry experts who can provide the resources necessary to create successful new therapies that meet unmet patient needs, may be your best choice.
About Innoforce
At Innoforce, we focus on partnerships to enable and accelerate the innovation of breakthrough ATMPs and Biologics. Our company offers end-to-end contract development and manufacturing services (CDMO), including GMP manufacturing of plasmid DNA, RNA, viral vector and cell products. Plus, through a joint venture with a leading international supplier of life sciences products and services, we also provide CDMO services for antibody and protein drugs.
Innoforce is a company that helps to develop and bring new cell, gene, and advanced biological therapies to market quickly and efficiently. These treatments have the potential to change patients’ lives for the better. If you would like more information about Innoforce, please visit our website at https://www.innoforcepharma.com/.
