Thursday 7 June 2007

Polyplus-transfection launches "Polyplus in vivo Consortium" to speed development of gene therapy clinical trials

Innovative reagent specialist forms network of researchers and clinicians using Polyplus' synthetic gene transfer reagents

Strasbourg, France, June 7, 2007 — Polyplus-transfection, a company specializing in research, development and marketing of innovative reagents for drug delivery, gene therapy and transfection announces today that it is setting up a group called the "Polyplus in vivo Consortium". This group will be developed on a user group model and bring together research scientists and clinicians in an international network of users of Polyplus-transfection's gene therapy reagents. Polyplus-transfection expects the new group to increase the number of clinical trials using its synthetic gene transfer reagents and accelerate their development.


The Polyplus in vivo Consortium aims at letting users of Polyplus-transfection's products and solutions share their experience to accelerate the implementation of clinical trials and give them access to Polyplus-transfection's latest technology. The company plans to organize regular meetings and workshops and will actively support the Polyplus in vivo Consortium members in their preclinical and clinical therapeutic projects. Members will benefit from personalized support, from Polyplus-transfection's expertise regarding in vivo delivery as well as preferential conditions for products used for therapeutic development. Among other services, Polyplus-transfection will supply appropriate certificates of analysis for preclinical and toxicology studies.

Polyplus-transfection's in vivo-jetPEI compound will play a key role in the Consortium. It is derived from the synthetic molecule polyethylenimine (PEI) for which Polyplus-transfection holds the exclusive worldwide license for the transfection of nucleic acids. In vivo-jetPEI is widely used for in vivo experiments. It allows intracellular delivery of nucleic acids and has become a benchmark in gene delivery.

"The Polyplus in vivo Consortium will make research and development of gene therapy applications easier," said Joëlle Bloch, CEO of Polyplus-transfection. "The project meets a real need that was revealed by the first clinical research teams using our products. It will allow Polyplus-transfection to build a true network where users of our transfection reagents can exchange know-how and experience. This network will help our customers get their clinical trials under way and also help Polyplus-transfection develop solutions that suit users' needs."


About Polyplus-transfection

Polyplus-transfection researches, develops and markets products for drug delivery, gene therapy and innovative transfection reagents. Transfection consists of introducing a gene or a small interfering RNA into a cell. This technique makes it possible to cross the cellular barriers and deliver such biomolecules into the cell for scientific or therapeutic purposes. Customers for Polyplus-transfection's products and services include biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies as well as life science research laboratories.

In addition to transfection reagents for research, Polyplus-transfection offers high quality consultancy and personalized scientific support. The company has acquired expertise in regulatory affairs related to the use of its reagents for gene delivery in clinical trials.

The Strasbourg-based company has 20 members of staff, an international distribution network and numerous academic and industrial partnerships. Polyplus-transfection is one of the technology leaders in the transfection market with ISO 9001:2000 certification, three exclusive licenses from the CNRS and six patents filed.

For more information, visit: http://www.polyplus-transfection.com


Source: Polyplus-transfection