Full Press Release Details
Signs Agreements with Jade Therapeutics for Ophthalmological Drug
Delivery Applications of HyStem
ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 17, 2012--BioTime, Inc. (NYSE
MKT: BTX), a biotechnology company that develops and markets products in
the field of regenerative medicine, today announced the signing of an
exclusive sublicense agreement and a supply agreement with Jade
Therapeutics, LLC, a developer of an ophthalmological therapeutic
sustained-release drug delivery platform. Under the agreements, BioTime
will provide Jade with clinical-grade HyStem hydrogels
and certain patented technology for use by Jade Therapeutics in the
development of new pharmaceutical products for ophthalmologic use. Jade
plans to utilize the hydrogels to facilitate time-release topical
delivery of recombinant human growth hormone to help heal lesions on the
ocular surface. Jade Therapeutics will retain rights to market their
product upon completion of development and obtaining marketing approval.
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
William P. Tew, Ph.D., BioTime's Chief Commercialization Officer, stated
that "Numerous published scientific reports have established the
efficacy of HyStem to facilitate cell
transplantation in animal models, and we currently plan on a near-term
approval to market one HyStem -related
product, ReneviaTM, in the EU for reconstructive and
cosmetic surgery. We believe our HyStem technology
may also be useful as a device for the slow, timed release of
therapeutic agents such as those being developed by Jade Therapeutics,
as well as for the controlled release of proteins secreted from
BioTime's stem cell lines."
"The HyStem product line has potential
utility in a wide array of human therapeutic products," said Michael
West, Ph.D., BioTime's CEO. "We intend to seek additional industry
partners for applications that are not core to our own therapeutic
product development."
BioTime's HyStem hydrogels are proprietary
biocompatible hydrogels that mimic the human extracellular matrix (ECM),
a web of molecules surrounding cells that is essential to cellular
function. When cells lacking the ECM (or an ECM substitute) are
introduced into the body, they typically die or fail to function
correctly after transplantation. BioTime's HyStem hydrogels
are currently being used by researchers at a number of leading medical
schools in studies of stem cell therapies for facilitating wound healing
and for the treatment of ischemic stroke, brain cancer, vocal fold
scarring, and cardiac infarct.
About Jade Therapeutics
Jade Therapeutics, LLC, a privately-held company headquartered in Park
City, Utah, focuses on the development of locally administered,
sustained-release therapeutics that improve corneal healing following
damage from disease or injury, thus improving visual function and
quality of life. The Company's initial product is designed to deliver
recombinant human growth hormone, a well characterized biologic that has
already been demonstrated to have significant healing properties. Jade
recently secured a prestigious Utah Science Technology and Research
(USTAR) grant to continue to conduct preclinical and market research and
is in negotiation with several prominent academic and military
affiliates to further product development. Examples of ocular disorders
addressed by the Company's technology includes persistent corneal
epithelial defects and corneal damage due to dry eye disease.
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 ACTCellerateTM
cell lines, HyStem hydrogels, culture media, and
differentiation kits. BioTime is developing ReneviaTM
(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-DxTM 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 LifeMapTM 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,
or prospects expressed by management constitute forward-looking
statements. Any statements that are not historical fact (including, but
not limited to statements that contain words such as "will," "believes,"