Mayo Clinic, Hibiscus BioVentures and Innoforce Pharma have launched Mayflower BioVentures, a cell and gene therapy accelerator dedicated to identifying and forming companies around technologies that address unmet patient needs. This academic and industry relationship will establish independent cell and gene therapy companies to advance the development of Mayo Clinic technologies through preclinical and early feasibility studies.

With a shared interest in identifying treatments and preventing disease, the aim of Mayflower is to advance new cures for serious and complex conditions through cell and gene therapies.

Mayo Clinic, ranked as the No.1 hospital in the nation for the seventh year in a row by U.S. News & World Report, has generated a portfolio of next-generation immune system modulators and multiple novel therapeutics in cell and gene therapy. Mayo Clinic’s Center for Regenerative Biotherapeutics is leading efforts to advance regenerative technologies from discovery into early phase clinical trials. This includes a focus on industry collaborations with companies such as Hibiscus that have resources to support and expedite this work.

“Mayo Clinic is committed to building an advanced ecosystem for the development, manufacture and delivery of next-generation therapeutics,” says Julie Allickson, Ph.D., the Michael S. and Mary Sue Shannon Family Director of Mayo Clinic’s Center for Regenerative Biotherapeutics. “Cell and gene therapies have the potential to provide a new era of biologic drugs that offer hope for people with conditions that have few or no therapeutic options. We are very excited to work with Hibiscus to speed the development of new biotherapeutics.”

Dr. Allickson also is the Otto Bremer Trust Director, Biomanufacturing and Product Development in the Center for Regenerative Biotherapeutics.

“This collaboration with Mayo Clinic and Hibiscus provides a strong platform for accelerating the development of cell and gene therapies,” said Ken Carter, Ph.D., Innoforce’s president of U.S. operations. “We are excited to work with these two excellent organizations as we continue to establish partnered end-to-end solutions for advanced medicines.”

“Our collaboration with Mayo Clinic represents a distinct research and industry coalition with a shared mission to create a powerful force for the advancement of cell and gene therapies,” said Sia Anagnostou, chief operating officer of Hibiscus BioTechnology. “Together, we aim to provide a springboard for startups leveraging the research capabilities at Mayo Clinic with a focus on addressing significant unmet patient needs.”

The Mayflower management team brings together clinical leaders from Mayo Clinic with operational and investment experience from Hibiscus to move scientific discoveries from the lab bench to patients’ bedsides.