NEW YORK, Nov. 27-Functional genomics company Athersys may pull up its roots in Ohio and move to Durham, N.C., according to a report in the Business Journal of Raleigh/Durham.
In October, the Duke University Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy hired Athersys collaborator and scientific advisor Huntington Willard as its new director, prompting discussions of the move. Willard is currently director and president of the research institute of the University Hospitals of Cleveland.
Athersys has about 130 employees, and collaborates with both Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
The company markets a gene expression tool, RAGE, has developed a gene therapy technique to create artificial human chromosomes, and ultimately plans to develop proteins, peptides, and antibody treatments.