CytoSolv acquired by Semma Therapeutics of Cambridge

CYTOSOLV'S Christopher Thanos, left, CytoSolv co-founder, and Briannan Bintz, a company bioengineer, are shown in the company offices in 2011. The Providence firm recently was acquired by Cambridge-based Semma Therapeutics for an undisclosed sum. Thanos has been named vice president of delivery and Bintz will work as the director of delivery. / COURTESY CYTOSOLV
CYTOSOLV'S Christopher Thanos, left, CytoSolv co-founder, and Briannan Bintz, a company bioengineer, are shown in the company offices in 2011. The Providence firm recently was acquired by Cambridge-based Semma Therapeutics for an undisclosed sum. Thanos has been named vice president of delivery and Bintz will work as the director of delivery. / COURTESY CYTOSOLV

PROVIDENCE – Life sciences company CytoSolv Inc. has been acquired by Semma Therapeutics of Cambridge, Mass., according to a Slater Technology Fund press release.
The acquisition cost was not disclosed.
Semma is working on stem cell technology discovered at the Melton laboratory at Harvard to develop an artificial pancreas that will allow for diabetes treatment without the need for daily injections of insulin or monitoring of blood sugar. The Melton discovery provides a way to transform human stem cells into functional, insulin-producing beta cells to replace beta cells of the pancreas lost in type 1 diabetes, Slater said.
According to Slater, CytoSolv’s contribution will be to develop cell encapsulation technology for transplanting these new beta cells into patients without the need for drugs suppressing the immune system.
“CytoSolv is a particularly compelling example of how scientists in Rhode Island’s life science research enterprise are capable of commanding a role on a world-class stage,” Richard G. Horan, senior managing director of the Slater Technology Fund, said in a statement.
CytoSolv’s eight-member team will continue to operate in Providence at 117 Chapman St.
CytoSolv co-founders Dr. Moses Goddard and Christopher Thanos have been named chief medical officer and vice president of delivery, respectively, of Semma.
Briannan Bintz, a principal scientist at CytoSolv, will become director of delivery at Semma. The company also will continue to collaborate with Warwick–based Kineteks LLC.
CytoSolv has been operating for five years. In 2010, Slater made a $500,000 investment in the company, along with other investors that included Living Cell Technologies Ltd., a Papatoetoe, New Zealand-based cell implant company. Last year, CytoSolv repositioned itself to focus on cell encapsulation. Previously, it focused on technology developed with LCT.

Semma Therapeutics was founded this year to develop transformative therapies for patients who depend on insulin injections. It recently announced $44 million in initial funding, including a Series A financing led by MPM Capital with participation from F-Prime Capital Partners (formerly Fidelity Biosciences) and Arch Venture Partners. Other investors in Semma include corporate partners Novartis and Medtronic PLC.

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