23rd Oct 2007 08:00
Stem Cell Sciences plc23 October 2007 Press Release STEM CELL SCIENCES TO DEVELOP NOVEL MUSCLE STEM CELLS FOR DRUG DISCOVERY AND TOXICOLOGY ("Stem Cell Sciences", "SCS") 23 October 2007 Stem Cell Sciences plc (SCS, AIM:STEM, ASX:STC), the global biotechnologycompany focused on the commercialisation of stem cells and stem celltechnologies in research and cell-based therapies, today announced the signingof an exclusive agreement with San Raffaele Scientific Institute (Milan, Italy)covering assay validation and future commercialisation of novel human musclestem cells for drug discovery and toxicology applications. Financial terms werenot disclosed. These muscle stem cells, a subset of pericytes (cells located around thecircumference of small blood vessels), can be extracted from skeletal or heartmuscle and retain the capacity to turn into muscle cells on demand. The cellswere discovered by Professor Giulio Cossu, Director of the Stem Cells Institute,and his team at the San Raffaele. Pericytes can be readily grown in the laboratory and represent a significantaddition to SCS's growing platform of renewable cell types originating fromembryonic, neural and adipose stem cell sources. Pericyte-derived muscle cellsare believed to be capable of providing the functionality and consistent qualityneeded for the discovery and testing of new drug candidates on human cells. SCS will initially conduct in-house technology development of the pericytes atits Cambridge, UK, automated cell production facility. Once consistent,automated and cost-effective muscle cell production is confirmed, the technologywill be made available to the pharmaceutical industry via a range of commercialoptions, including assay-ready formats or under license for in-house use. "It's another step for SCS in becoming a leading supplier of stem cells to thepharmaceutical industry," said Dr Peter Mountford, President and CEO of StemCell Sciences. "The agreement validates our approach of working with the world'selite stem cell groups. Thanks to our European Union supported "Eurostemcell"collaboration with Professor Cossu, well known for his pioneering work onmuscular dystrophy, new and improved approaches to drug discovery and toxicologyare now possible." "This is an important result for the San Raffaele Stem Cell Institute. It showsthe great potential of stem cell research for a varied range of pharmaceuticalapplications, including discovery and selection of more effective and safedrugs," commented Daniela Bellomo, Director of the Biotechnology Transfer Centre(BTC) at San Raffaele who negotiated the agreement. Lucia Faccio, Licensing Manager at BTC said: "We are very excited with thisagreement and we are confident the development of these assays will quicklyproceed thanks to SCS' expertise and word-class facilities." With metabolic diseases such as diabetes, arteriosclerosis and heart failure onthe increase, drug companies are actively looking for improved predictive humancell-based assays in the discovery process for new drugs. Cell assays utilisinghuman muscle can more accurately indicate adverse effects of a drug on, forexample, normal and regular heart function.Dr Tim Allsopp, SCS' Chief Scientist commented: "The pericytes can be obtainedin a very simple manner, grow well in the laboratory and reproducibly makemuscle cells, factors which are crucial in building a robust, scalable platformtechnology." The company intends to provide novel, high quality, functional human skeletaland heart muscle assays to pharmaceutical industry partners. - Ends - For further information, please contact: Stem Cell Sciences plc (United Kingdom) +44 1223 499161Tim Allsopp, Chief Scientific Officer Halsin Partners +44 207 084 5955Mike Sinclair Stem Cell Sciences (Australia) pty ltd +61 3 9905 0600Peter Mountford, President and CEO Talk Biotech +61 422 206036Fay Weston Stem Cell Sciences llc (USA) +1 415 495 7340George Murphy, Vice President Business Development Notes to Editors ABOUT STEM CELL SCIENCES: Stem Cell Sciences plc (SCS, AIM: STEM, ASX: STC) is a global biotechnologycompany providing the biological infrastructure of cells and cell culture mediato the burgeoning stem cell research market. Stem Cell Sciences' core objective is to develop safe and effective cell-basedtherapies for currently incurable diseases. SCS retains all rights to itstechnology for therapeutic use and is targeting cell-based therapies forneurodegenerative disease and injury. Revenues from Stem Cell Sciences' research business are delivered via anintegrated network of business teams and regional offices in Edinburgh andCambridge (UK), Kobe (Japan), Melbourne (Australia) and San Francisco (USA).This global reach provides the Company with the direct access to markets throughexperienced personnel and local business networks needed to drive SCS businessgrowth in each region. The key challenge for the successful application of stem cells in both researchand clinical applications is the reproducible supply of pure, fullycharacterized stem cells and stem cell-derived specialised cells such as nervesand muscle. This represents a significant technological challenge that willrequire access to multiple technologies and a globally integrated stem cellinitiative. To access cutting edge technologies on a rapid and on-going basis, Stem CellSciences has built an exceptional network of highly interactive collaborationswith academic centres of excellence in the stem cell field. These collaborationshave been the source of our founding technologies and continue to provide anexpanding pipeline of products and intellectual property that are central to theCompany's strategy and success. To facilitate research and technology transfer with its major collaboratingacademic institutions, Stem Cell Sciences' business and scientific teams areusually co-located on site or adjacent to the centre of excellence inindependent company facilities. The Company's key collaborating institutesinclude the Wellcome Trust Centre for Stem Cell Research (University ofCambridge), the Institute of Stem Cell Research (University of Edinburgh), RIKENCentre for Developmental Biology (Kobe) and the Australian Stem Cell Centre(Melbourne). Academic and commercial use of stem cells in basic research and drug discoveryprovides the Company with immediate and growing revenue streams and offsets thecost of technology development for full scale cell production of SCS cell-basedtherapeutics. For further information on the company please visit:www.stemcellsciences.com ABOUT SAN RAFFAELESan Raffaele of Monte Tabor Foundation, founded in 1971 by Luigi Maria Verze, isa non-profit private Foundation characterised by the integration of educationwith basic research and clinical activities. It includes: the San RaffaeleScientific Institute (550 scientists, 666 publications and an impact factor of3412 in 2006); the San Raffaele Hospital, one of the biggest hospitals in Italy,with more than 3.600 employees and 1.392 beds, running over 250 clinical trialsper year; and The Vita-Salute University.The San Raffaele is active in technology transfer through its BiotechnologyTransfer Centre whose mission is to create value from know-how and intellectualproperty, available within the San Raffaele Scientific Institute. The Biotechnology Transfer Centre acting within Science Park Raf SpA (a companyentirely owned by the San Raffaele Foundation) has produced the followingresults: • 82 international patents filed • 41 patents active • 25 license agreements • 260 sponsored research contracts • 99 industrial clients worldwide (companies that signed research contracts and/or license agreements For further information please visit: www.spr.it and www.sanraffaele.org This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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