Morphocell Technologies’ quest to transform the treatment of liver disease took another major step forward today with the announcement of new Stem Cell Network  (SCN) funding for the Paganelli lab at Le Centre hospitalier universitaire Sainte-Justine. 

 

The $500,000 grant was announced in Montreal, QC by Mr. Will Amos, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry (Science). Morphocell will match the SCN funding, which will be used to support crucial large-animal safety and efficacy studies for its encapsulated liver technology, ReLiver®  – an important milestone in the development of what may become the world’s first alternative to transplants for treating acute liver failure (ALF).  

​

“We are thrilled to be able to partner with SCN, CHU Sainte-Justine and the Paganelli lab to fund research that moves ReLiver® closer to the clinic and towards improving the health and quality of life of patients with ALF,” says Dr. Jennifer Moody, Morphocell’s Chief Operating Officer. “Morphocell is a spinoff resulting from a research partnership between CHU Sainte-Justine and Université de Montréal funded by SCN and other granting agencies, and we see today’s announcement as further endorsement of our vision and commercialization plan.” 

​

Morphocell’s large-animal model studies will initiate in 2020 and extend into 2021.