TxCell raises €10.5m to finance phase I-IIA clinical trials
TxCell, an anti-inflammatory immunotherapy specialist based in Nice in France, has raised €10.5m in a first round of financing. The new money will finance Phase I-IIA clinical trials with the objective of demonstrating the clinical efficacy of a particular type of lymphocyte cell, Tr1 (a T-regulatory cell), when used in the treatment of serious chronic diseases caused by disorders of the immune system.
TxCell, an anti-inflammatory immunotherapy specialist based in Nice in France, has raised €10.5m in a first round of financing. The new money will finance Phase I-IIA clinical trials with the objective of demonstrating the clinical efficacy of a particular type of lymphocyte cell, Tr1 (a T-regulatory cell), when used in the treatment of serious chronic diseases caused by disorders of the immune system.
The company, which was founded in 2001, has built its technology around the role of the Tr1 T-regulatory cells in maintaining the balance of the immune system. Chronic inflammation of the immune system occurs due to an imbalance between the effector cells and the regulatory cells. The role of the latter is to re-establish the balance of the immune system by stopping inflammatory reaction through the local secretion of anti-inflammatory cytokines.
The technology developed by TxCell is said to represent a breakthrough compared with currently available therapies, and offers a curative rather than a palliative or symptomatic solution, as well as individualised therapy. Target diseases for TxCell are chronic inflammation of the immune system caused by Crohn's disease, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, asthma or rheumatoid polyarthritis.
'TxCell has obtained spectacular results in animal studies showing a 100% rate of effectiveness and a total absence of relapse whatever the model used,' said Philippe Ballero, president of TxCell. 'This round of financing will enable us to manufacture Tr1 cells with the objective of entering Phase I-IIA towards the end of 2005.'