17th Jul 2006 07:00
Stem Cell Sciences plc17 July 2006 For immediate release 0700 17.7.06 STEM CELL SCIENCES AND NEUROSOLUTIONS ANNOUNCE STRATEGIC COLLABORATION Neural Stem Cells to Come of Age for Commercial Exploitation in Drug Discovery NeuroDiscovery Limited ("NeuroDiscovery"; ASX Code: NDL) and Stem Cell Sciencesplc ("SCS"; AIM code: STEM) are pleased to jointly announce today thatNeuroDiscovery's 100% UK-based subsidiary, NeuroSolutions Limited("NeuroSolutions"), entered into a collaborative agreement with SCS for aninitial period of one year. The collaboration aims to exploit the worldwide commercial opportunity toprovide high-value contract services to biopharmaceutical companies and tosupply them with native human neurones, validated for known ion channels andreceptors that are tuned to their drug discovery needs. The initial focus of thecollaboration will be on targets that are relevant to the future treatment ofmajor neurological diseases. NeuroSolutions will provide its expertise in electrophysiology to functionallyvalidate and characterise the electrical properties of neurones derived fromSCS' Neural Stem (NS) cells, which SCS will make available to NeuroSolutions forthe purposes of the collaboration. Under the collaboration, the stem cell derivation, cell growth anddifferentiation skills of SCS will be combined with NeuroDiscovery's specialisedelectrophysiology techniques. The companies will combine their automated cellproduction and high-throughput patch-clamping equipment to produce functionallyvalidated cells suited for industry's current drug discovery needs. Any newintellectual property generated pursuant to the collaboration will be ownedjointly (50:50) by both companies. Peter Mountford, CEO of SCS commented: "It's an exciting collaboration. Thepharmaceutical industry's demand for SCS' stem cell-derived, functionallyvalidated neurones continues to grow and this collaboration will enable us tofurther extend the range of products we can supply". Dr Mark Treherne, Chairman of NeuroDiscovery added, "This interactivecollaboration will enable NeuroSolutions to provide an enhanced service to itsestablished biopharmaceutical clients but also open up new opportunities for usto expand our service offerings, by building on our established skills inhigh-throughput electrophysiology and ion channel function. ". -ENDS- For further information please contact: Stem Cell Sciences plc NeuroDiscoveryHugh Ilyine David McAuliffeVP and COO Executive Director+44 (0) 131 662 9829 +61 (0)408 994 [email protected] Weber Shandwick Square MileJames Chandler/James White+44 (0) 207 067 0700 Background Information About Stem Cell Sciences plcStem Cell Sciences plc is a global biotechnology company focused on thedevelopment and application of stem cell technologies in biopharmaceuticalresearch and cell-based therapies. The Company has established a leadingintellectual property (IP) and technology portfolio that enables the commercialapplication of stem cells in pharmaceutical/biotechnology drug discovery anddevelopment, providing the Company with an early-stage revenue stream. In thelonger term, the Company is developing regenerative, cell-based therapies. SCS operates as a group of independent operations with laboratories in Scotland,Japan and Australia, each of which is affiliated with an academic centre ofexcellence. These include the Institute of Stem Cell Research, Edinburgh, UK;RIKEN Centre for Development Biology, Kobe, Japan and the Australian Stem CellCentre, Melbourne, Australia. Stem Cell Sciences listed on the London AIM exchange on 18th July 2005 (AIM:STEM). For further information on the company visit www.stemcellsciences.com About NeuroDiscoveryNeuroDiscovery Ltd is an ASX listed neurology research and development companywhich owns 100% of NeuroSolutions Ltd (ASX Code NDL). For further informationvisit www.neurodiscoveryltd.com. About NeuroSolutionsNeuroSolutions Limited is a profitable service company, applying its broadexpertise and drug discovery platforms to become a leading provider ofspecialised electrophysiological assays to the biopharmaceutical industry.Electrophysiology is a specialised technique which is used to record electricalactivity in membranes, cells or tissues. NeuroSolutions current clients includemany other established pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. In parallel to running its service business, the Company is also exploiting itsin house technologies and expertise for its own internal R&D and has a maturepipeline of programmes underway for the treatment of pain. During 2006 and 2007the company intends to commence a Phase I and II clinical trial on its leadcompound NSL-043 in partnership with Sosei Co Ltd. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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