Erin Bedford of Aspect Biosystems uses a RX1 bioprinter to make a 3-D tissue patch in Vancouver, in 2021.DARRYL DYCK/The Globe and Mail
Aspect Biosystems Ltd. has secured additional government funding to expand its capacity to 3-D print live tissue implants that can replace organ functions.
The Vancouver-based company said Thursday the federal government is contributing $79-million toward a $280-million multi-year project. It will accelerate the advancement of Aspect’s pipeline of bioengineered cellular medicines for serious metabolic and endocrine diseases, while increasing the company’s vertical integration and manufacturing capacity, as it invests in clinical development and staffing.
The announcement comes less than two years after Ottawa provided $49-million toward a $200-million plan by Aspect that included building manufacturing facilities capable of producing materials for its clinical trials and investments to further develop its technology. The B.C. government also contributed $23.75-million for the 2024 project.
“We’re the only G7 country without a biopharma giant, and part of getting there is these types of partnerships” with government, Aspect chief executive officer Tamer Mohamed said in an interview. “My goal is to build a Novo Nordisk here in Canada that’s at the same scale and size.”
Novo, the Danish giant behind blockbuster weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, is a key partner for Aspect. In 2023, Aspect signed a development deal with Novo after demonstrating its implants could treat diabetes in rodents. That agreement gave Novo an exclusive right to develop up to four products targeting diabetes and/or obesity with the B.C. company’s technology, in a deal worth up to US$2.6-billion in payments to Aspect for achieving development milestones, plus royalties on any Novo product sales that come out of the deal.
Vancouver’s Aspect Biosystems raises $115-million to develop 3-D printed human tissue technology
Novo paid US$75-million upfront to fund Aspect’s research and development and took an ownership stake.
In January, the partners expanded their collaboration to develop cellular treatments for Type 1 diabetes. Aspect acquired rights to incorporate key biological components from Novo into its novel treatments. Those components include stem-cell-derived islet cells, as well as cell-engineering technologies that prevent the human immune system from attacking 3-D-printed tissue when it is implanted into patients.
Islet cells, produced by the pancreas, make insulin that keep blood sugar levels in check. Those cells are destroyed by the immune system in people with Type 1 diabetes.
Under that expanded partnership, Aspect will lead development, manufacturing and commercialization of its product, while Novo retains certain rights to expand its role in later-stage development and commercialization.
Novo will also make an additional undisclosed equity investment in Aspect and fund further research. It will be eligible to receive royalties and milestone payments on future product sales.
Aspect’s technology has not yet been tested in humans, but success would be significant for Canada. While Canadian scientists discovered insulin in 1921, today it is Novo and companies in the U.S. (Eli Lilly & Co.) and France (Sanofi S.A.) that dominate the market for insulin treatments. Ozempic and Wegovy, known medically as semaglutide, were originally created to treat Type 2 diabetes in adults.
Aspect’s system, which incorporates artificial intelligence, features its own specialized 3-D printers that produce synthetic tissues composed of living cells derived from stem cells and hydrogel polymers.
The tissues are meant to be implanted in people with impaired organs, such as the pancreas or liver. The tissues can then replace, repair or supplement the functions of those organs within minutes, once the circulatory system fuses with the material.
The 13-year-old University of British Columbia spinout, which has about 130 employees, has raised more than US$250-million in venture capital from Canadian and international investors including Radical Ventures, Pangaea Ventures, Rhino Ventures, Dimension Management LP, Breakthrough T1D (a U.S. non-profit that funds diabetes research), the B.C. government’s InBC Investment Corp. and Novo.
Industry minister Mélanie Joly said in a press release the Aspect funding “will accelerate life-changing therapies for patients, strengthen our economy and ensure Canadian talent continues to thrive in the innovation sector.”