CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 9, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN)
and LabCentral announced today that Platelet BioGenesis is an
Amgen's 2016 winner of the highly competitive Golden Ticket award,
which underwrites the cost of a lab bench for a Platelet BioGenesis
scientist in LabCentral's open lab for one year. LabCentral is an
innovative, shared laboratory space designed as a launchpad for
premier high-impact life-sciences and biotech startups. As one of
LabCentral's platinum sponsors, Amgen can nominate up to two
early-stage companies to take up residence in LabCentral's
Kendall Square facilities in
Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Platelet BioGenesis is a Harvard
spin-out that is developing pluripotent stem cell-derived
(donor-independent) human platelets to replace the donor-based
blood system. The company aims to expand life-saving platelet
availability and transfusions beyond developed countries by making
sterile, longer-lasting platelets available on-demand. Traditional,
human-donor-sourced platelets, critical for blood clotting and
wound healing, must be stored at room temperature, and are at risk
of bacterial and viral contamination on collection, which limits
their shelf life to five days before accounting for screening and
transportation. Platelet BioGenesis is mimicking how human bone
marrow triggers platelet production from megakaryocytes (parent
cells). The company's approach is designed to reduce costs and
improve platelet purity to produce superior platelets that are
immune compatible (don't trigger adverse immune reactions),
bacterial/viral-free − and ultimately − safer for human
infusion.
"Amgen is pleased to award another innovative company with the
Golden Ticket," said Aine Hanly,
vice president, Process Development and site head, Amgen
Massachusetts. "Awarding Platelet BioGenesis with the third Golden
Ticket – along with original winners Novopyxis and Cocoon Biotech –
is reflective of the diverse approach to innovation that occurs
naturally within Cambridge. Amgen
is excited to enable Platelet BioGenesis to continue further
research in advancing unique approaches to treatments for serious
conditions."
"We know the Platelet BioGenesis team well from their days at
MassChallenge and so we're delighted that Amgen has selected the
company as a 2016 Golden Ticket winner – it's an excellent choice,"
commented LabCentral Co-Founder and President Johannes Fruehauf. "They will thrive in the
shared work environment here, where on any given day a thorny
problem might be solved during an impromptu 'hack' initiated during
a coffee-machine discussion, or an entrepreneur might get advice
from a visiting VC executive, or s/he may even find inspiration
through one of our changing exhibits of local artists."
"We couldn't be more pleased. Platelet BioGenesis has been
making tremendous progress in such a short period of time, and the
Golden Ticket award represents an opportunity for us to accelerate
our work further and continue to grow our company in an ideal
location," said Platelet BioGenesis CEO and Co-Founder Jonathan N. Thon, Ph.D. "The stem cell field has
caught fire and finally something that was once a dream is suddenly
approaching a reality. We're proud to be leading this change. This
is one more important step in our mission to develop a sustainable,
donor-free blood system." In addition to his role at Platelet
BioGenesis, Dr. Thon is also an assistant professor of medicine at
Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard
Medical School.
About Platelet BioGenesis (www.plateletbiogenesis.com;
twitter @plateletbiogen)
Platelet BioGenesis is a
pre-clinical stage biotech company that was spun out of
Harvard in 2014 to produce
donor-independent human platelets from pluripotent stem cells.
Platelet BioGenesis has developed and patented a microfluidic
bioreactor, and shown that functional platelets can be generated
from human stem cell cultures at scale. The company was selected to
participate in MassCONNECT (run by MassBio), was a 2014
MassChallenge Finalist, a 2016 BioSciKin business competition
winner, and has received support from the Massachusetts Life
Sciences Center.
About Amgen
Amgen is committed to unlocking
the potential of biology for patients suffering from serious
illnesses by discovering, developing, manufacturing and delivering
innovative human therapeutics. This approach begins by using tools
like advanced human genetics to unravel the complexities of disease
and understand the fundamentals of human biology.
Amgen focuses on areas of high unmet medical need and
leverages its expertise to strive for solutions that improve health
outcomes and dramatically improve people's lives. A biotechnology
pioneer since 1980, Amgen has grown to be one of the
world's leading independent biotechnology companies, has reached
millions of patients around the world and is developing a pipeline
of medicines with breakaway potential.
For more information, visit www.amgen.com and follow us
on www.twitter.com/amgen.
About LabCentral (www.labcentral.org; twitter
@labcentral)
A 28,000 square-foot facility in the heart of
the Kendall Square, Cambridge, biotech innovation hub,
LabCentral is a first-of-its-kind shared laboratory space designed
as a launchpad for high-potential life-sciences and biotech
startups. It offers fully permitted laboratory and office space for
early-stage companies comprising approximately 125 scientists and
entrepreneurs. LabCentral provides first-class facility and
administrative support, skilled laboratory personnel, a
domain-relevant expert speaker series ‒ as well as the other
critical services and support that startups need to begin
laboratory operations on day one. A private, nonprofit institution,
LabCentral was funded in part by a $5 million grant from
the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, with support from its
real-estate partner, MIT. Founding sponsors include
Triumvirate Environmental and Johnson & Johnson Innovation.
Contact:
Amgen, Massachusetts
Jennifer Bianco, (401) 392-8815
biancoj@amgen.com
LabCentral, Massachusetts
Caroline Grossman, (781)
771-5579
cgrossman@labcentral.org
Platelet BioGenesis
Jonathan N. Thon, Ph.D., (617)
877-6816
jthon@plateletbiogenesis.com
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081015/AMGENLOGO
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/platelet-biogenesis-wins-amgen-golden-ticket-for-labcentral-300264597.html
SOURCE Amgen