Nextgen Biotech Company of the Institute of Human Stem Cells group (HSCI, MOEX: ISKJ) has opened a new laboratory on the premises of the Moscow Center for Innovative Technologies in Healthcare Technopark (Medtech).
The laboratory will conduct scientific and applied research for companies and startups of the HSCI ecosystem, as well as for Technopark residents.
Nextgen’s director Sergey Dale is confident that “the laboratory will become one of the HSCI’s research infrastructure centers and will expand opportunities for the development of biomedical drugs for the treatment of genetic and orphan diseases.”
Nextgen is a resident of the Lomonosov Cluster of the Vorobyovy Gory MSU Innovative Technology Research Center. The company is developing a portfolio of gene therapy drugs that stimulate vascular growth for the treatment of ischemic conditions and expanding the indications for use of Neovasculgen, the world’s first gene therapy drug with the “therapeutic angiogenesis” (therapeutic vascular growth) mechanism. The use of the drug in patients with chronic ischemia stimulates the growth of the vascular network and reduces ischemia symptoms.
Neovasculgen was approved by the Ministry of Health and is included in the essential drug list, national guidelines, federal diagnosis-related groups, Moscow’s compulsory medical insurance program and is actively used in medical practice. As Neovasculgen is designed to treat tissue ischemia, the drug has the potential to treat other diseases that require a vascular density increase. Nextgen is conducting clinical trials of Neovasculgen for the treatment of interstitial cystitis and diabetic foot syndrome (DFS).
The Moscow Center for Innovative Technologies in Healthcare (Medtech) is a place where Moscow physicians, research teams and startups work together to accelerate the implementation of innovative solutions in the city’s healthcare system. Among its residents, Medtech has companies developing medical technologies that can potentially be used in the city’s medical organizations.