26th Sep 2007 07:00
Stem Cell Sciences plc26 September 2007 Press Release Stem Cell Sciences wins EU Funding to use Stem Cells for drug discovery ("Stem Cell Sciences", "SCS") 26 September 2007 Stem Cell Sciences plc (SCS; AIM:STEM, ASX: STC) announces today that it is tolead an EU funded, multinational novel drug screening collaboration using stemcells. The project, named "NEUROscreen", will use Stem Cell Sciences'proprietary neural stem (NS) cell technology and has received a contributionfrom the EU's 6th Framework Programme for Research and Technical Development(FP6). The EU's contribution to the NEUROscreen project is worth €2.4 millionover three years, of which approximately €0.42 million will flow directly to SCSover the three year period.NEUROscreen brings together a unique partnership of leading European academicresearch institutes and biotech companies from several nations, including the UK, Germany and Italy. The Programme involves designing unique bioassays based on SCS' neural stem cell technology, which will then be used to discover newcandidate medicines for the treatment of cancer, Alzheimer's disease, stroke andepilepsy. Neural stem cells can differentiate into neurons and glia, thereforeoffer potential in treating CNS disorders. SCS' NS cells grow stably and uniformly, consistently producing neurons aftermany months in culture. The cells adhere to tissue culture vessels and can beexpanded to large volumes using state-of-the-art laboratory robots. These arefeatures that provide a direct advantage to users of neural cells for drugscreening. SCS has validated a process for NS cell expansion using robotics fromits commercial partner, The Automation Partnership. This process guarantees aconsistent production of high quality cells delivered in quantities to suit mostdrug screening campaigns. SCS' component of the project will be performed at itsautomated stem cell production facility in Cambridge (UK) by the SC Servicesteam of assay design specialists. "This is a tremendous opportunity to validate our human NS cell and NScell-derived cell types for drug discovery, all within a single, well definedprogramme of work," said Dr. Lilian Hook, SCS' European Research ProgrammeManager. "We expect that NEUROscreen will significantly add to the value of ourNS cell platform and broaden its utility in neural drug discovery anddevelopment."Commenting on the award of the funding, Peter Mountford, Chief Executive of SCS,said: "We are very pleased that the EU has decided to fund SCS as coordinatorfor NEUROscreen. The €420,000 that SCS will receive as leader of this projectdemonstrates that our technology and capabilities are distinctive in theindustry. We look forward to increasing the range of drug discovery applicationsand adding to our list of four large industry licensees of the technology.NEUROscreen also provides SCS with the exciting prospect of discoveringproprietary drug leads." - Ends - -The content of this press release reflects the view of Stem Cell Sciences andnot the European Community. The Community is not liable for any use that may bemade of the information contained therein. For further information, please contact: Stem Cell Sciences plc (United Kingdom) +44 1223 499161Tim Allsopp, Chief Scientific OfficerHalsin Partners +44 207 084 5955Mike SinclairStem Cell Sciences (Australia) pty ltd +61 3 9905 0600Peter Mountford, President and CEOTalk Biotech +61 422 206036Fay WestonStem Cell Sciences llc (USA) +1 415 495 7340George Murphy, Vice President Business Development Notes to Editors SCS' NEURAL STEM CELLS SCS' Neural Stem (NS) cell is the first tissue-specific cell identified that cangrow stably in the laboratory as a pure population of stem cells and withoutongoing differentiation. The new cells can be grown indefinitely in monolayer,serum-free conditions in fully defined culture media, developed by Stem CellSciences. It is a cell type that shows maintenance of stable biological potencyeven after prolonged periods in culture. NS cells can differentiate to neuronsand glia, and offer a limitless source of cells for cell therapy in conditionssuch as Parkinson's disease. The ability of NS cells to retain their capacityfor subsequent differentiation after prolonged growth in culture means they areparticularly useful in generating mature human brain cell types at a largescale. In addition, as these cells can be derived from diseased donors andsubsequently used to differentiate into brain cells, in vitro models of thedisease can be created providing the basis for drug screening. Therefore, NScell lines offer potential in many areas of pharmaceutical research inneurological disease and dysfunction, and it is anticipated that they will alsobe of enormous benefit to the emerging regenerative medicine industry. Thesecells provide the foundation of Stem Cell Sciences' cell therapy programmes. 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 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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