Sernova Corp T.SVA

Alternate Symbol(s): SEOVF

Healthcare Biotechnology

Sernova Corp. is a Canada-based clinical-stage biotechnology company, which is developing therapeutic cell technologies for chronic diseases, including insulin-dependent diabetes, thyroid disease, and blood disorders that include hemophilia A. The Company is focused on developing a functional cure for insulin-dependent diabetes with its therapeutic cell technology, the Cell Pouch System, a novel implantable and scalable medical device with immune protected therapeutic cells. The Cell Pouch is a scalable, implantable medical device. The Cell Pouch is designed to create a vascularized organ-like environment for the transplantation and engraftment of therapeutic cells. Its regenerative medicine therapeutic approach is to provide cell therapies where the cells, transplanted within an organ-like vascularized implantable device, the Cell Pouch, generates proteins, hormones or factors released into the bloodstream for treatment of diseases requiring replacement of these molecules in the body.

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Sernova Corp

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Comment by Smitty2000on Aug 23, 2017 11:14am

137 Views

Post# 26612149

RE:RE:RE:Echelon Starts Coverage!!!

echelon started coverage in december last year. they haven't had anything newsworthy to report on. another year has gone by and sernova continues to disappoint.

elgin1 wrote: Wwwmeinc,

Doug Low is waiting on catalyst to materialize for Sva before he gives it a sp target. But he does mention and compares Viacycte. Besides Viacyctes fibrosis problem, they gave a problem with their progenitor cells . Not sure if they will or can produce B cells and how to prevent them from producing Unwanted pancreatic cells. Viacycte loads their device with their cells before implantation while Sernova waits for vascularization before loading their cells.

Probably why Viacycte is doing sentinel cells in columns to see what happens with them. So even if Viacycte overcomes their fibrosis problem ( which was present in their mouse model) in the new device , still have a huge problem to overcome with their cells. That's why Fda is making them to prove their device and cells are safe. Don't know how Viacycte's new device went from a mouse model to human testing without any testing on large scale animal model?

"As an addendum to our observations above, an article by Harvard University’s biologist Douglas Melton provides commentary. According to the article in MIT Technology Review, Melton estimated that ViaCyte might require a larger device than what is being currently presented in order to develop the necessary beta cells required to effectively treat diabetes. Melton himself can be considered an expert in the field; he formally published a paper in Nature Medicine for developing mature beta cells from human embryonic stem cells. He was quoted in the article that implanting mature cells would allow a bio-artificial pancreas to start working immediately, as opposed to waiting three months for immature cells to be fully functional. Melton also goes on to say that the progenitor

cells used in ViaCyte’s device will not yield beta cells completely, with other pancreatic cells being developed instead.

Risk of fibrosis: As with any foreign body implantation, the development of fibrosis (latent scarring) is a risk that could arise. In ViaCyte’s device, management has disclosed in the above-mentioned interview that a foreign body reaction is expected in patients, leading to a fibrotic capsule. Observations based on ViaCyte’s mice model studies have noted that a thin fibrotic capsule is also formed in the device. Douglas Melton from the MIT article above noted that fibrosis on ViaCyte’s device might starve cells of oxygen and reduce the ability to sense sugar and release insulin. Existing medical literature relating to Sernova’s device does not yet indicate fibrotic activity that we are aware of, and we will certainly provide updates as such information becomes available. However, as stated above, the device is designed specifically to mitigate fibrosis development through encouragement of tissue to incorporate into (rather than around) the device"