Cell Genesys/Takeda: Not Quite Validation for Cell Therapy

After enduring years of investor and partner skepticism, cell therapy has finally gotten what should be its validating deal: Cell Genesys's $50-million-upfront worldwide alliance with Takeda for Phase III GVAX prostate. But none of the companies who discussed licensing the product focused on the fact that it is a cellular therapy , regarding it as a prostate cancer treatment that happens to be a cellular therapy. Until GVAX delivers definitive and positive Phase III data, other cell therapy companies (like Dendreon and Antigenics) shouldn't get their partnering hopes up.