23 December 2011 - TiGenix (EBR:TIG), a Belgium-based biomedical company specialising in local treatments for damaged and osteoarthritic joints, said on Friday that it had obtained a considerable grant from the European Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) to fund the development of the Cx611 program of allogeneic expanded adipose derived stem cells for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

TiGenix leads the so-called REGENER-AR consortium of 10 partners from Spain, France, the UK, the Netherlands and Belgium. The total grant for the consortium amounts to EUR5.9m (USD7.7m), of which TiGenix and its Spanish subsidiary Cellerix will receive EUR2.9m to fund research and development work relating to Cx611.

The grant also covers the cost of preclinical studies performed by members of the consortium to gather more information about the disease modifying activity of Cx611, which will further reduce TiGenix's R&D expenses related to these studies.

(EUR1 = USD1.308)