|
Biotech company stays in Charleston, researches MS
By Shelia Watson
Contributing Writer
A research company based in Charleston has begun preliminary tests that may lead to the treatment of multiple sclerosis, but the Charleston connection was almost lost due to lack of available wet lab space in the area.
Don DeLuca Sr., chairman of D-Finitive Technologies, a privately owned company, is engaged in the study of cord blood stem cells.
The specific research D-Finitive is engaged in has to do with taking cord blood stem cells and modifying them to address various illness, particularly multiple
sclerosis.
Cord blood stem cell research is one of the groundbreaking areas of biotech research and development. He pointed to an article in a recent issue of Time magazine which reports on work being done at Stanford University.
“They’re looking at using cord blood stem cells to combat cancer,” he said. “For some reason, cord blood stem cells have the ability to attack abnormal cells and replace them with healthy cells. The report said they’ve seen promising results. What we’re doing is the same concept, except using the cord blood stem cells to treat MS.”
It is estimated that 400,000 people in the United States and 2.5 million people worldwide suffer from MS, thought to be an autoimmune disease in which the tissue myelin that surrounds and protects the nerve fibers of the central nervous system is lost.
The cord blood stem cells could replace or repair the lost myelin. The preliminary studies will help determine whether the damaged or lost tissue is being replaced.
DeLuca Jr. said the company deals constantly with the misconception that the cells are embryonic.
“These are not from embryos,” he said. “They are from the umbilical cord after the child is born. And cord blood stem cells are completely different in their nature. They’ve had nine months to mature and acquire different properties.”
Staying in town
DeLuca Sr. said he was contacted by Charles River Endosafe following an article in the Business Journal last fall.
“That article was about our sister company, CureSource, which processes and stores cord blood stem cells,” he said. “At that time, we were having to move out of our lab space in downtown Charleston, and we had received an offer from the Medical College of Georgia for a wet lab and office facility.”
“We had a letter of intent,” said Don DeLuca Jr., president of D-Finitive. “Georgia had incubator space, with six labs at 2,000 square feet each with offices, phone lines and administrative support. All of it was funded through tobacco allotment dollars. South Carolina gave the tobacco money back to the farmers, but Georgia took it and put it into the economy.”
Before the company could make the move, Charles River Endosafe called with an offer of 2,000 feet of wet lab space in West Ashley where D-Finitive could begin animal testing on transfected stem cells, DeLuca Sr. said.
“When we read about their situation, we called and set up a meeting to discuss how we could work together,” said Foster Jordan, executive director of in vitro products for Charles River Endosafe. “It would be a shame to let biotech companies like D-Finitive and CureSource leave the area.”
Although both companies work with cord blood stem cells, DeLuca Sr. said D-Finitive and CureSource are separate companies, each with a particular focus.
“CureSource deals with processing and storing cord blood stem cells only,” he said. “We incorporated D-Finitive specifically to do research on cord blood stem cells and to work with other research institutions. None of the cells collected by CureSource are used in D-Finitive’s testing.”
The unknown biotech
Charles River Endosafe, formerly Endosafe until an acquisition in 1994 from Charles River Laboratories of Boston, has been in Charleston since 1987. Originally housed in two suites at its West Ashley facility, it has expanded to 18 suites totaling 48,000 square feet and employing 50 people.
The company will break ground on a larger facility on the adjacent property in January. At that time, D-Finitive will move from its shared wet lab space to dedicated space.
“This is the unknown biotech of the Lowcountry,” said DeLuca Sr. “When people speak of biotech around here, it’s always that we need to build something or we need to get someone to move here. But (Charles River Endosafe) is already here and has been for quite a while. And it’s a very successful operation. It’s just that no one has noticed.”
The alliance the two companies formed is broad and covers several areas, DeLuca Sr. said.
“We have multiple agreements in the whole area of biotech,” he said. “We’re establishing working relationships with them that will expand our activities not only in the United States but in Europe as well.
“They’re providing us with lab and office space, and we’re working with them to provide new key drug-testing materials. We’re discussing having them be a distributor of our products here and overseas. We’re also working on an intellectual property exchange that covers a host of things from basic science to applied science.”
The space allotted to D-Finitive is fully outfitted, DeLuca Jr. said.
“It’s FDA-approved and uses (good management practices) standards. It’s a world-class, state-of-the-art facility. If someone is looking to see what a high-tech wet lab should look like, this is it,” he said.
Other collaborations
Although D-Finitive is focused on MS, the concept can be expanded to address a host of issues, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes and sickle cell anemia.
In fact, the company currently is working with researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina to test whether cord blood stem cells can be useful in repairing heart muscle tissue. D-Finitive has also done some work with spinal cord injury repair, some of it outside the country.
“The United States is lagging in this research,” said DeLuca Sr. “We’re working with people in Europe and China, establishing liaisons there to do the research.”
D-Finitive is also in discussion with several major companies here and overseas to expand its operations and has many other projects in the works, said the younger DeLuca.
“We’re working with Clemson University bioengineers on a couple of projects,” he said.
The Clemson scientists, currently working in space provided by MUSC, receive financial support from D-Finitive and CureSource. D-Finitive is working on a Small Business Innovation Research grant for National Institute of Health funds in conjunction with the Clemson bioengineers. The funds are expected later this summer.
DeLuca Jr. applauds the initiative taken by Charles River Endosafe to collaborate—a move that effectively kept D-Finitive and CureSource in the area.
“We worked this deal on a business-to-business basis,” he said. “We didn’t get any help from any governmental entity, even though we asked for help at all levels. They just weren’t able to provide help beyond suggesting that we take out a loan.”
DeLuca Sr. sees the D-Finitive-Endosafe alliance as a better method of getting biotech off the ground in the Lowcountry.
“People are always asking, ‘What does it take to get a biotech company in Charleston?’ Well, here’s the answer: Get a couple of companies that are interested in working together to make money and let them figure it out. We don’t need more studies or agencies creating so-called ‘innovation centers.’ We need businesses talking to each other about how to generate more business.”
|
E-Mail This Article
Printer-Friendly Version