Rhône-Poulenc Forms Network To Develop Gene and Cell Therapies

COLLEGEVILLE, Pa--Rhône-Poulenc Rorer Inc. (Paris, France)has formed a new division, RPR Gencell, dedicated to the discovery,development, and commercialization of cell and gene therapy products.To accelerate such discoveries, the company has also created abiotechnology network comprising 14 biotech companies and academicresearch centers.

The US members of the collaboration are Genetix Pharmaceuticals(New York City), The Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory Human GenomeCenter (Berkeley, Calif), Applied Immune Sciences, Inc. (SantaClara, Calif), Darwin Molecular Corporation (Seattle), and IntrogenTherapeutics, Inc. (Houston).

The other network members are French, including the Centre Nationalde Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), the Institut Gustave Roussy,and the Université Louis Pasteur.