Healiva, C4U Join Forces to Develop New Gene Therapy for EB

The two companies have entered into a strategic alliance agreement regarding the development of CRISPR-Cas3 derived therapeutic solutions for Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB).

Healiva SA (Healiva) and C4U Corporation (C4U) have entered into a strategic alliance agreement regarding the development of CRISPR-Cas3 derived therapeutic solutions for Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB), also known as “butterfly children”.

“The collaboration aims to provide answers and hope to the individuals affected by EB, a devastating skin condition that renders the skin of the affected children as fragile as butterfly wings,” says Valerio M. Ferrari, Bioseutica Group Chairman & Co-Founder of Healiva, in a news release.

For this collaboration, the parties will work together to develop a gene therapy for EB with a staged development process to maximize speed and approval to perform clinical studies. 

“By utilizing its proprietary CRISPR-Cas3 technology, a new generation of gene editing technology, C4U’s focus is to develop alternative and complete cures to genetic diseases. Skin diseases, especially EB, are relevant targets for the CRISPR-Cas3 platform, and we believe that we will bring a bright future to EB patients throughout the world,” says Akimitsu Hirai, President & CEO of C4U.

"This collaboration integrates gene therapy prospects with our comprehensive cell therapy portfolio, leveraging our expertise in autologous (Epidex®) and allogenic therapy technologies and the capabilities of our manufacturing infrastructure," adds Dr. Priyanka Dutta Passecker, Co-Founder & CEO of Healiva.