NEWS
Regenetech Initiates Preclinical Studies at Johns Hopkins University with Expanded Adult Stem Cells for Type 1 Diabetes Treatment
14 November 2007
Regenetech®, Inc. today announces that it has signed a Sponsored Research Agreement (SRA) with Johns Hopkins University in order to work toward a treatment for type 1 diabetes. This is in addition to the research agreements which the Company currently has in place with Texas A&M University and the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. Regenetech is pioneering the development and commercialization of technology which the company believes will enable regenerative therapy with adult stem cells for widespread use.
Regenetech’s agreement with Johns Hopkins University will span over two years, and involves significant funding from the Company. The goal of the research project is to develop a treatment for type 1 diabetes using a patient’s own adult stem cells expanded in Regenetech’s IntrifugeTM Bioreactor. Dr. Mehboob Hussain, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine at Johns Hopkins University, has considerable experience in the treatment of diabetes with stem cells, and is overseeing the research which will use Regenetech’s technology.
University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) supplies blood and cord blood stem cells to Regenetech’s laboratories and uses them for their own research purposes as well. In addition, the Company has signed a sub-license agreement with UTMB to use Regenetech’s NASA licensed IntrifugeTM Bioreactor system to expand the stem cells found in the blood. The ultimate goal is to provide low cost, safe doses of adult stem cells for a broad range of diseases and known therapies. The principal investigator from UTMB is Professor Larry A. Denner, who has significant expertise in the identification, expansion and differentiation of primitive cord blood stem cells for pre-clinical studies.
Regenetech also has a SRA with Texas A&M University for the treatment of bone fractures in animals. The research is to demonstrate the clinical efficacy of NASA’s patented time-varying electromagnetic field (TVEMF) technology, which is exclusively licensed to Regenetech. This technology holds rapid healing potential for animals, such as high value race horses and pets, which offer highly significant markets for Regenetech. Once the veterinary treatment protocols have been finalized successfully, it is expected that they will lead the way to human clinical trials.
Dr. David Bonner, Chief Executive Officer of Regenetech, said: “All three agreements offer considerable benefits both for Regenetech and the individual universities, and we are delighted with the latest agreement, which we have signed with Johns Hopkins University. Any new intellectual property that is generated from these research agreements will be owned by the respective universities, but we have the right to negotiate exclusive licenses.
“We are extremely excited to be collaborating with such outstanding institutions, and are hopeful that the research will result in real and positive treatments for a broad range of serious diseases. The agreement with Johns Hopkins University has potentially significant implications for the treatment of type 1 diabetes, and we look forward to announcing the results of our collaboration with them.”
For further information:
| Regenetech, Inc. | |
| Arless Hutchinson | Tel:832-414-9035 |
| regenetech@regenetech.com | |
About Regenetech
Regenetech is a leading adult stem cell company that uses NASA licensed technology to expand adult stem cells in a simulated weightless three-dimensional environment. The stem cells are taken from the patient’s peripheral blood and expanded before re-introducing them back into the original patient. The Bioreactor maintains cell-to-cell geometry and communication throughout the expansion process, which leads to more robust expansion of the required stem cells. The Company’s technologies provide the opportunity to treat serious diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and stroke; there are at least 300 million people in the US, EU and Japan who could potentially benefit from stem cell therapeutics now in development.
Regenetech has a series of agreements with prestigious universities in order to further refine its technologies and to develop potential treatments for diabetes and bone/cartilage repair. In addition, its technology is being used in trials in the field of veterinary orthopaedics, whereby the Time Varying Electro-Magnetic FieldTM, licensed from NASA, assists in the repair of broken bones in animals.
The Company has a dual track revenue strategy in order to maintain a balance between short and medium term earnings. The Company licenses out technologies for treatments, as well as progressing therapies through the usual biologics clinical trials cycle, which is significantly shorter and less costly than the conventional drugs’ clinical trials process.
For further information on the Company, go to www.regenetech.com.