CAMBRIDGE, MA, UNITED STATES, January 5, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Safi Biotherapeutics (“Safi”), a leader in the field of allogeneic biomanufacture of blood cells, proudly announces the successful completion of an agreement to acquire all assets of EryPharm, a prominent player in the development of advanced red blood cell therapeutics. This strategic move marks a significant step forward for Safi, positioning the company at the forefront of industrial scale biomanufactured red blood cell production, an innovative alternative to traditional donor blood products.

The acquisition brings together the cutting-edge proprietary technologies of both Safi and the French biotechnology company EryPharm, creating a powerful synergy that is poised to revolutionize the biomanufacturing landscape. By combining decades of expertise, resources, and intellectual property portfolios of the two companies, Safi is set to accelerate the development and commercialization of its biomanufactured red blood cell product, with which it aims to address critical challenges in the availability and accessibility of specific antigen-phenotyped blood transfusion solutions.

"This acquisition represents a landmark moment for Safi and the entire biotechnology industry," said Doug McConnell, CEO of Safi. "The integration of EryPharm's assets with our existing capabilities will propel us forward in our mission to provide a sustainable and scalable solution for red blood cell production. We are confident that this collaboration will significantly impact global healthcare by helping to ensure a stable and secure supply of blood products for those in need.”

The founder and CEO of EryPharm, Professor Luc Douay, a pioneer in the field who led the world’s first clinical study of autologous, cultured red blood cells back in 2011, also sees this agreement as pivotal for the industry. “Combining the collective knowledge and innovative breakthroughs from over fourteen years of parallel efforts by both the EryPharm and Safi founders and lead scientists advances development of industrial-scale biomanufactured red blood cells and accelerates the path to a meaningful proof-of-concept.” Professor Douay added, “With this agreement, we hope to realize our shared vision of producing an industrial scale cultured red blood cell transfusion product to overcome the challenges associated with traditional blood donation systems, offering a reliable, scalable, and cost-effective alternative that could revolutionize the transfusion medicine landscape.”

Key benefits of the Safi acquisition include:
1. Enhanced Technological Capabilities: The integration of Safi and EryPharm will accelerate the development of advanced solutions for biomanufactured red blood cells, ensuring efficiency and scalability.
2. Expanded Intellectual Property Portfolio: The combined intellectual property portfolio strengthens the position of the new entity in the competitive landscape, providing a solid foundation for continued innovation and growth.
3. Accelerated Time-to-Market: The collaboration will expedite the timeline for bringing innovative red blood cell products to market, addressing critical healthcare needs more rapidly.

“Safi is committed to pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in effectively biomanufacturing cell therapies and advancing medical solutions with the potential to transform lives,” McConnell added. “In combining these leading technologies, we are designing a solution to the inevitable blood shortage programmed in the upcoming decades due to the aging blood donor population,” adds Douay.

About Safi Biotherapeutics:
Safi Biotherapeutics (“Safi”) is a pre-clinical stage blood cell therapy company developing bio-manufactured red blood cells (mRBCs) with targeted immuno-phenotypes for multi-unit, chronic transfusion indications, including sickle-cell disease, thalassemias and chemotherapy-related anemia, as well as universal donor mRBCs for acute trauma transfusion. Launched in 2020 as part of the US Department of Defense USU 4DBio3 On-Demand Blood program, Safi and its partners have advanced the technology to demonstrate the feasibility of an allogeneic, stem-cell sourced, bio-manufactured blood cell product at multi-transfusion-unit scale and viable economics. Safi has business and research operations in Cambridge, MA and Loughborough UK. To learn more, visit saf.bio or follow us on LinkedIn.

About EryPharm:
ERYPHARM, a spin-off of Prof Luc Douay’s Sorbonne University team, is a medical biotechnology research and development company founded in 2016, located in the Saint-Antoine research center of Sorbonne University, Paris, FRANCE. ERYPHARM achieved a breakthrough in the production of a new biological drug, the Cultured Red Blood Cells from Hematopoietic Stem Cells, which aims to supplement blood donation for blood transfusion.

Doug McConnell
Safi Biotherapeutics Inc
info@safi.bio

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.