AgeX Therapeutics to Collaborate with University of California, Irvine on Neural Stem Cell Research Program for Huntington’...
04 February 2020 - 12:00AM
Business Wire
- Program will utilize AgeX’s proprietary PureStem® cell
derivation and manufacturing technology platform
- Goal of developing cellular therapies for Huntington’s disease
and potentially Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and other neurological
conditions
- Builds on University’s research in neural stem cell
transplantation for Huntington’s disease, including safety and
efficacy animal data that may support an IND submission as early as
2021
AgeX Therapeutics, Inc. (“AgeX”; NYSE American: AGE), a
biotechnology company focused on developing therapeutics for human
aging and regeneration, announced a research collaboration with the
University of California, Irvine (UCI) using AgeX’s PureStem®
technology to derive neural stem cells, with the goal of developing
cellular therapies to treat neurological disorders and diseases for
which there are no cures. The collaboration’s initial R&D work,
expected to take approximately one year, will be conducted in the
UCI laboratory of Leslie Thompson, PhD, Chancellor’s Professor of
Psychiatry & Human Behavior and Neurobiology & Behavior, a
leading researcher in the field of Huntington’s disease and other
neurological disorders, under a Sponsored Research Agreement
handled by the Industry Sponsored Research team at UCI Beall
Applied Innovation. The initial focus will be on Huntington’s
disease, while other potential targets may include Parkinson’s,
Alzheimer’s, and stroke.
The primary goal of the research will be to develop a robust
method of deriving neural stem cells from pluripotent stem cells in
sufficient quantity and with sufficient purity and identity for use
in cell-based therapy. Professor Thompson’s laboratory has already
accumulated safety and efficacy animal data that may support an IND
submission to the FDA as early as 2021 for the commencement of
clinical trials to treat Huntington’s disease.
“We look forward to utilizing AgeX’s cell derivation and
manufacturing PureStem technology, with its many potential
advantages, including industrial scalable manufacturing, lower cost
of goods, and clonal cells with high purity and identity. Our goal
is to have an improved neural stem cell production method ready
within a year to move into clinical development,” said Professor
Thompson.
“We are absolutely delighted to start this exciting
collaboration with Professor Thompson, who has worked tirelessly
over her career to develop a neural stem cell product candidate for
Huntington’s disease and who has already generated preclinical
animal data that may support the initiation of clinical studies,”
said Dr. Nafees Malik, Chief Operating Officer of AgeX. “Moreover,
we are very excited to be entering the field of neurology, which
has huge clinical and commercial potential. Neural stem cells may
be very useful in other neurological disorders that are common in
aging demographics, such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and
stroke.”
“This is an example of the kind of collaboration we will be
seeking under our newly-unveiled collaboration and licensing
strategy, which is to run parallel to our in-house product
development,” said Dr. Greg Bailey, Chair of AgeX. “We will be
collaborating with a world leader in their field on a research
project which is close to the clinic.”
The collaboration includes an opportunity for AgeX to organize a
company to be jointly owned with Professor Thompson and other
researchers to pursue clinical development and commercialization of
cell therapies derived using licensed inventions arising from the
research program, as well as certain patent pending technology for
neural stem cell derivation, and certain technical data, including
animal data, to support IND submissions.
About AgeX Therapeutics
AgeX Therapeutics, Inc. (NYSE American: AGE) is focused on
developing and commercializing innovative therapeutics for human
aging. Its PureStem® and UniverCyte™ manufacturing and
immunotolerance technologies are designed to work together to
generate highly-defined, universal, allogeneic, off-the-shelf
pluripotent stem cell-derived young cells of any type for
application in a variety of diseases with a high unmet medical
need. AgeX has two preclinical cell therapy programs: AGEX-VASC1
(vascular progenitor cells) for tissue ischemia and AGEX-BAT1
(brown fat cells) for Type II diabetes. AgeX’s revolutionary
longevity platform induced Tissue Regeneration (iTR™) aims to
unlock cellular immortality and regenerative capacity to reverse
age-related changes within tissues. AGEX-iTR1547 is an iTR-based
formulation in preclinical development. HyStem® is AgeX’s delivery
technology to stably engraft PureStem cell therapies in the body.
AgeX is developing its core product pipeline for use in the clinic
to extend human healthspan and is seeking opportunities to
establish licensing and collaboration agreements around its broad
IP estate and proprietary technology platforms.
For more information, please visit www.agexinc.com or connect
with the company on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this release are
“forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements that are
not historical fact including, but not limited to statements that
contain words such as “will,” “believes,” “plans,” “anticipates,”
“expects,” “estimates” should also be considered forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from the
results anticipated in these forward-looking statements and as such
should be evaluated together with the many uncertainties that
affect the business of AgeX Therapeutics, Inc. and its subsidiaries
particularly those mentioned in the cautionary statements found in
more detail in the “Risk Factors” section of AgeX’s Annual Report
on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commissions (copies of which may be
obtained at www.sec.gov). Further, in the case of AgeX’s new neural
stem cell program there can be no assurance that: (i) any new cell
derivation methods will be invented in the sponsored research
program, (ii) any derivation methods that may be developed will be
sufficient to derive neural stem cells in quantities and of purity
suitable for clinical use and commercialization, (iii) that any new
inventions or existing technology will be licensed on commercially
favorable terms, (iv) that any neural stem cells derived for
therapeutic use will be shown to be safe and effective in clinical
trials, and (v) that any neural stem cells derived for therapeutic
use will be successfully commercialized even if clinical trials are
successful. Subsequent events and developments may cause these
forward-looking statements to change. AgeX specifically disclaims
any obligation or intention to update or revise these
forward-looking statements as a result of changed events or
circumstances that occur after the date of this release, except as
required by applicable law.
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Media Contact for AgeX: Bill Douglass Gotham Communications, LLC
bill@gothamcomm.com (646) 504-0890
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