GERMANTOWN, Md., Oct. 31, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Orgenesis Inc. (NASDAQ: ORGS), a leading cell and gene therapy enabling company providing centralized CDMO manufacturing and development services through its subsidiary MTH Global, Inc., as well as localized point-of-care development and processing centers, today announces that Bala S. Manian, PhD is appointed to the Company’s Scientific Advisory Board.

Mr. Manian brings 35 years of experience in the field of biomedical sciences and holds over 40 patents. He currently serves as a Director of Vaccinex, Inc. (Nasdaq: VCNX), a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering novel investigational antibody therapies in cancer and Huntington’s disease, a Director of Syngene International Ltd., a public contract research and manufacturing organization, a General Partner of Saraswati Partners, a venture capital partnership, and a Director at Equillium (NASDAQ: EQ), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing products to treat severe autoimmune and inflammatory disorders.

Mr. Manian started his career as a senior research associate and assistant professor at the University of Rochester, Institute of Optics. Following this position, Mr. Manian became a serial inventor and founded a string of successful companies that utilize optical technology to address unmet needs in the life sciences sector, including Lumisys (NASDAQ: LUMI), Digital Optics Corporation, Molecular Dynamics, Biometric Imaging, ReaMetrix, Quantum Dot, and SurroMed. While at Biometric Imaging, he worked as Chief Technical Officer where he led the development of a technology that enables doctors to examine the blood cells of very ill patients and determine the nature and extent of their disease. This technology also provides pharmaceutical companies the ability to perform cell function analysis in drug discovery and development. Additionally, within these companies, he was instrumental in developing the first laser film image recorder for medical imaging, inexpensive protein and DNA analysis instrumentation, and the first whole-blood, homogeneous cell assays for AIDS and cancer patients.

A number of the technologies that he helped develop have also been applicable to the film industry. In February 1999, Manian earned an Academy Award for special effects with the first three-color laser. This innovation allows filmmakers to insert or merge special effects into movies. This was used in movies such as ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’ and ‘Return of the Jedi.’ Additionally, Mr. Manian consulted on computer vision for on-line quality control at several companies including Ford, IBM, Corning, Kodak, and the Union Pacific Railroad. As a consultant, he helped develop the first compact barcode laser scanner for supermarkets, several laser scanner-based stereo mapping instruments at the Defense Mapping Agency and image quality control instrumentation for photo reconnaissance systems.

Mr. Manian received a Bachelor of Science in Physics from Loyola College in Chennai, a postgraduate level Diploma in Instrumentation from the Madras Institute of Technology in Chennai, a Masters in Applied Optics from the University of Rochester, and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University.

“Bala Manian will be a very important appointment to the Orgenesis Scientific Advisory Board. We expect his scientific, medical and entrepreneurial background to make a significant contribution as Orgenesis enters the next phase of its growth. In particular, we look forward to leveraging his technical and medical expertise to help advance our point-of-care (“POCare”) cell therapy platform, which we believe has the potential to transform the cell and gene therapy market,” said Vered Caplan, CEO of Orgenesis. “Orgenesis is committed to leveraging new technologies to enhance the delivery and efficacy of cell and gene therapies, as well as dramatically reducing treatment costs. Having a widely respected visionary and entrepreneur of Bala’s caliber will also assist us in evaluating collaboration and in-licensing opportunities.”

About Orgenesis

Orgenesis is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development, manufacturing and processing of technologies and services in the cell and gene therapy industry. The Company operates through two platforms: (i) a point-of-care (“POCare”) cell therapy platform (“PT”) and (ii) a Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (“CDMO”) platform conducted through its subsidiary, Masthercell Global. Through its PT business, the Company’s aim is to further the development of Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (“ATMPs”) through collaborations and in-licensing with other pre-clinical and clinical-stage biopharmaceutical companies and research and healthcare institutes to bring such ATMPs to patients. The Company out-licenses these ATMPs through regional partners to whom it also provides regulatory, pre-clinical and training services to support their activity in order to reach patients in a point-of-care hospital setting. Through the Company’s CDMO platform, it is focused on providing contract manufacturing and development services for biopharmaceutical companies. Additional information is available at: www.orgenesis.com.