Staying targeted on gene therapy

Targeted Genetics Corp. believes it has found a way to monetize its backburnered cell therapy technologies by spinning out the platform into its CellExSys subsidiary. But the gains will not be immediate, as TGEN expects that CellExSys will have to marinate in order to add appreciable value.

TGEN had used the cell therapy technology when it was focused on ex vivo gene therapy, but in the past few years, the company has shifted to in vivo approaches. Indeed, TGEN (Seattle, Wash.) has bolstered this shift with two acquisitions. In 1996, TGEN bought RGene Therapeutics Inc. (The Woodlands, Texas), a developer of non-viral gene therapy technologies(see BioCentury, April 22, 1996). This year, TGEN purchased Genovo Inc. (Sharon Hill, Penn.) for $67 million. Genovo's technology generates small quantities of adeno-associated virus (AAV) products that can be used for target validation...