Cytori, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services deal
Cytori said it received preliminary notice of intent from HHS’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority that BARDA intends to exercise the first option in the company’s September 2012 contract. The contract is worth up to $106 million to develop a cell therapy to treat thermal burns from radiation injury. The product comprises a patient’s own adipose-derived stem and regenerative cells (ADRCs) processed by Cytori’s Celution System.
The initial base contract provided about $4.7 million in funding for preclinical studies, preliminary design and development of the Celution System and an assessment of Cytori’s technology in tissue samples from burn patients. Cytori said it is in negotiations with BARDA on the work to be completed in the option period, which will extend the contract to September 2016. The company said the maximum award for the first option period is about $32 million and would potentially cover a pilot clinical trial of the therapy. Cytori expects the negotiations to take several weeks. ...