Full Press Release Details
Subsidiary Cell Cure Neurosciences Ltd. Awarded $1.33 Million Grant From
Israel's Office of the Chief Scientist
ALAMEDA, Calif. & JERUSALEM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--August 1, 2012--BioTime,
Inc. (NYSE MKT: BTX) and its subsidiary Cell Cure Neurosciences Ltd.
(Cell Cure) today announced that Cell Cure has been awarded a grant for
2012 of 5.04 million Shekels (approximately $1.33 million) from Israel's
Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS) to help finance the development of OpRegen ,
a cell-based therapeutic product in development by Cell Cure for the
treatment of age-related macular degeneration. Cell Cure's plans for the
development of OpRegen include filing an
application to commence human clinical trials in 2013.
"We wish to thank the Office of the Chief Scientist for their
participation in advancing this important new application of
regenerative medicine," said Charles Irving, PhD, Chief Executive of
Cell Cure. "The dry form of age-related macular degeneration is
estimated to afflict over 7.3 million people in the United States alone.
We anticipate that OpRegen will make a real
difference in the quality of life of the aging population in many
industrialized countries, and hence it is a strategic investment for not
only Israel, but the world as a whole."
"Age-related macular degeneration is a severe form of acute vision loss
and the leading cause of blindness in an aging population. It affects
that part of the retina most critical in everyday tasks such as reading
and face recognition. I join with Dr. Irving in thanking OCS for their
generous support in accelerating these advances in stem cell biology
into the clinic," said Benjamin Reubinoff, MD, PhD, Chief Scientific
Officer of Cell Cure and Chairman of Obstetrics and Gynecology and
Director of the Hadassah Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research Center at
Hadassah University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel.
The OCS has previously provided grants to Cell Cure. Cell Cure will pay
a 3.5% royalty to the OCS on revenues from OpRegen until
total royalties paid equal 100% of the amount of the grants plus
interest at a LIBOR rate.
About the Office of the Chief Scientist
The Office of the Chief Scientist in the Ministry of Industry, Trade and
Labor is charged with the execution of government policy for the support
of industrial R&D. The goal of the OCS is to assist in the development
of technology in Israel as a means of fostering economic growth,
encouraging technological innovation and entrepreneurship, leveraging
Israel's scientific potential, enhancing the knowledge base of industry
in Israel, stimulating high value-added R&D, and encouraging R&D
collaboration both nationally and internationally. A variety of ongoing
support programs developed and offered by the OCS play a major role in
enabling Israel to be a key center for high-tech entrepreneurship.
About Cell Cure Neurosciences Ltd.
Cell Cure Neurosciences Ltd. was established in 2005 as a subsidiary of
ES Cell International Pte. Ltd. (ESI), now a subsidiary of BioTime, Inc.
(NYSE MKT: BTX). Cell Cure is located in Jerusalem, Israel on the campus
of Hadassah University Hospital. Cell Cure's mission is to become a
leading supplier of human cell-based therapies for the treatment of
retinal and neural degenerative diseases. Its technology platform is
based on the manufacture of diverse cell products sourced from
clinical-grade (GMP) human embryonic stem cells. Its current programs
include developing cells for the treatment of macular degeneration,
Parkinson's disease, and cells potentially useful in treating multiple
sclerosis. Cell Cure's major shareholders include BioTime Inc., Hadasit
BioHoldings Ltd. (Tel Aviv Stock Exchange: HDST), and Teva
Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA). Additional information
about Cell Cure can be found on the web at www.cellcureneurosciences.com.
BioTime, headquartered in Alameda, California, is a biotechnology
company focused on regenerative medicine and blood plasma volume
expanders. Its broad platform of stem cell technologies is enhanced
through subsidiaries focused on specific fields of application. BioTime
develops and markets research products in the field of stem cells and
regenerative medicine, including a wide array of proprietary ACTCellerate
cell lines, HyStem hydrogels, culture media, and
differentiation kits. BioTime is developing Renevia (formerly
known as HyStem -Rx), a biocompatible,
implantable hyaluronan and collagen-based matrix for cell delivery in
human clinical applications. BioTime's therapeutic product development
strategy is pursued through subsidiaries that focus on specific organ
systems and related diseases for which there is a high unmet medical
need. BioTime's majority-owned subsidiary Cell Cure Neurosciences Ltd.
is developing therapeutic products derived from stem cells for the
treatment of retinal and neural degenerative diseases. BioTime's
subsidiary OrthoCyte Corporation is developing therapeutic applications
of stem cells to treat orthopedic diseases and injuries. Another
subsidiary, OncoCyte Corporation, focuses on the diagnostic and
therapeutic applications of stem cell technology in cancer, including
the diagnostic product PanC-Dx currently being developed for the
detection of cancer in blood samples. ReCyte Therapeutics, Inc. is
developing applications of BioTime's proprietary induced pluripotent
stem cell technology to reverse the developmental aging of human cells
to treat cardiovascular and blood cell diseases. BioTime's subsidiary
LifeMap Sciences, Inc. markets GeneCards , the
leading human gene database, and is developing an integrated database
suite to complement GeneCards that will also
include the LifeMap database of embryonic development, stem cell
research, and regenerative medicine, and MalaCards, the human
disease database. LifeMap will also market BioTime research products.
BioTime's lead product, Hextend , is a blood plasma
volume expander manufactured and distributed in the U.S. by Hospira,
Inc. and in South Korea by CJ CheilJedang Corporation under exclusive
licensing agreements. Additional information about BioTime can be found
on the web at www.biotimeinc.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements pertaining to future financial and/or operating results,
future growth in research, technology, clinical development, and
potential opportunities for BioTime and its subsidiaries, along with
other statements about the future expectations, beliefs, goals, plans,