Matricelf, an Israeli biotechnology company developing implants made from a patient’s own tissue, said Sunday it has signed a memorandum of understanding to form a new subsidiary focused on Parkinson’s disease and plans to raise $3.5 million for the venture.
Matricelf, which trades on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange under the symbol MTLF, said the subsidiary, to be called NeuroVectis, would receive an exclusive worldwide license to use Matricelf’s autologous tissue-engineering platform for Parkinson’s. In exchange, Matricelf would hold 25% of NeuroVectis’ shares and receive royalties and potential success fees tied to future commercialization.
Under the proposed terms, Matricelf would be entitled to royalties of 12% of any consideration actually received from future commercialization deals, or 2.5% of net sales. The company said it would also receive a 10% success fee in the event of an exit or an initial public offering by NeuroVectis.
NeuroVectis plans to raise $3.5 million to fund its activities and would enter into a research-and-development services agreement with Matricelf of at least $1 million per year for two years, Matricelf said.
Ron Meiron, Matricelf’s chairman, described the move as part of a broader strategy to expand beyond its current focus. “The establishment of NeuroVectis is a strategic milestone in transforming Matricelf into a multi-disciplinary platform,” he said in a statement, adding that applying the company’s tissue-engineering capabilities to Parkinson’s “is only the first step” in expanding into neurological fields. Meiron said the structure is designed to allow dedicated management and fundraising at the subsidiary level “without diluting the parent company,” while giving Matricelf shareholders exposure to future upside.
Matricelf said NeuroVectis’ approach would differ from existing pharmaceutical treatments aimed at temporary symptom relief. The company said the subsidiary is developing a “living and functional neural implant” made entirely from tissue taken from the patient — abdominal fat and blood platelets — intended to restore natural dopamine production without triggering immune rejection because it is derived from the patient’s own body.
The implant is described as a three-dimensional microtissue containing a mature neural network integrated into a bioscaffold, rather than a delivery mechanism for dopamine, the company said. Matricelf said the technology is based on work developed at Tel Aviv University and is intended to support cell survival and rapid integration into damaged brain tissue.
Prof. Tal Dvir, Matricelf’s chief scientific officer, will also serve as the subsidiary’s chief scientific officer, the company said.
Matricelf’s core program is aimed at treating paralysis caused by spinal cord injuries using implants produced from a patient’s own tissues. The company says its process uses a sample of abdominal fat and a blood sample to generate induced stem cells and create a hydrogel, and after a differentiation and tissue-engineering process lasting less than six months, produces a living neural implant genetically matched to the patient, designed to bridge an injured section of the spinal cord and support renewed neural conduction and rehabilitation. Matricelf was founded by Dvir and Dr. Alon Sinai based on technology developed in Dvir’s lab at Tel Aviv University.