InGeneron said today that healthcare provider Sanford Health invested $20 million in the company’s Series D financing round.
The Houston, Texas.-based company said the funding will be used to support the clinical programs for its stem cell injections in patients with rotator cuff and venous ulcer tears.
“This significant investment demonstrates Sanford’s commitment to be an active participant in InGeneron as well as being our clinical trial site of choice,” InGeneron president Ron Stubbers said in prepared remarks. “Our joint efforts will enable the company to make regenerative cell therapies available to clinical practice and to establish a leading position in the application of adipose-derived regenerative cells.”
Sanford started enrolling patients in the company’s safety and efficacy clinical trial earlier this year, evaluating InGeneron’s adipose-derived stem cell injections. The injections are made up of a mixture of cells and nutrients isolated from a patient’s own body as a treatment for partial-thickness rotator cuff tears, according to the company.
“Our active collaboration enabled us to be among the first U.S. health care providers to study adipose stem cell therapy in clinical trial,” president & CEO of Sanford Health Kelby Krabbenhoft added.
“The investment and expertise Sanford Health brings will accelerate the clinical developments and be a significant facilitator en route to bringing new regenerative cell therapies to patients,” InGeneron CFO Fabian Alt said.
InGeneron said it hopes to win regulatory approval for its regenerative stem cell therapies based on its clinical programs. In partnership with the Sanford Health network, the company enrolled the 1st patients in its clinical trial in January this year.
In December, InGeneron landed a collaboration with the German Accelerator Life Sciences program, establishing an additional U.S. presence in Cambridge, Mass. The initiative is supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs & Energy.
The GALS program will provide the company with a group of mentors to help leverage its network within the industry and support the its U.S. presence and development in Europe. GALS will continue to support InGeneron as the company launches clinical development in the U.S. and expands its distribution network, the program said.
