About us
An active biocell portfolio development company
Takura is active in regenerative medicine with mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) as well as in immuno oncology (TIL). The aim is to produce cells, develop advanced cell therapies and make them accessible to people in need of treatments. The operations are conducted by subsidiaries and Takura is the majority owner of four holdings; Cellcolabs (cell production), StromaBio (human MSC applications), Cellavos (veterinary MSC applications) and CuraCell (TIL immuno oncology).
Mesenchymal stromal cell therapy
The MSC-product, ”StromaForte”, is invented by Professor Katarina Le Blanc. It was first used at Karolinska University Hospital in 2003 when a patient suffering from Graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) was treated. StromaForte has until now been manufactured at Karolinska University Hospital by Katarina Le Blanc’s research group and used in several pioneering clinical studies for GvHD type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis. In 2015 two dying ARDS patients’ lives were saved when they got MSC while being treated in ECMO machines. As MSCs are considered advanced medicinal products in Europe today, the collaborations between academia and healthcare industry are vital for registering MSC- products on the market.
There are two Medical Products Agency (MPA) approved trials (phase I/II) with the bone marrow derived MSC product in Sweden. One on vocal fold injuries conducted at Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm and one on covid-19 patients suffering from ARDS conducted at Akademiska sjukhuset in Uppsala.
MSC have proved to be safe and effective in treating inflammation, auto-immunity and orthopedic disorders. A large number of clinical trials, especially Phase I/II, with MSC are ongoing around the world.
Immunoncology
CuraCell is using the TIL technology to fight cancer. 16 patients with solid tumors have already been treated under compassionate use with encouraging results and CuraCell will start a clinical trial together with Krankenhaus Nordwest in Frankurt.