Porton Advanced Partners with TongEYE to Advance iPSC-RPEC Ophthalmic Therapy

• Porton Advanced partners with TongEYE Medical Technology to provide CDMO services supporting an iPSC-derived retinal pigment epithelium cell (RPEC) therapy program for ophthalmic diseases.

• The collaboration includes CMC development, GMP manufacturing, process optimisation, quality studies, and IND application support to accelerate therapy development.

Porton Advanced has announced a partnership with TongEYE Medical Technology to support the development of an induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived retinal pigment epithelium cell (RPEC) therapy targeting blinding eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The agreement will see Porton Advanced provide comprehensive contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) services, including chemistry, manufacturing, and control (CMC) development and assistance with investigational new drug (IND) applications.

The collaboration leverages TongEYE’s proprietary induction method for retinal cell differentiation, combined with Porton Advanced’s expertise in iPSC and cell therapy manufacturing. Services will cover iPSC reprogramming, cell banking, process optimisation for RPE-directed differentiation, GMP manufacturing of RPE cells, rigorous quality testing, and regulatory support.

Dr Guo-Tong Xu, Founder and Chief Scientist of TongEYE, stated: “We are pleased to partner with Porton Advanced, a leading CDMO with proven track records. Their CDMO capabilities and project experience in iPSC will significantly accelerate our ophthalmic cell therapy development program to benefit patients sooner.”

Andrew Chen, CFO of Porton Advanced, added that the collaboration would address technical challenges by combining their CMC expertise with TongEYE’s innovative platform. He noted that the partnership aims to integrate international R&D expertise and quality systems to advance this promising treatment globally.