Full Press Release Details
Sciences, a Subsidiary of BioTime, Announces Release of LifeMap
Version 1.1 with Enhanced Therapeutic Discovery and Commercial Utility
ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 25, 2013--LifeMap Sciences,
Inc., a subsidiary of BioTime, Inc. (NYSE MKT: BTX), announced today the
release of LifeMap DiscoveryTM version 1.1
(discovery.lifemapsc.com). LifeMap DiscoveryTM
is a key component in LifeMap's integrated database suite, a discovery
platform for biomedical and stem cell research, which also includes GeneCards ,
the leading human gene database, and MalaCards, the human disease
database. LifeMap DiscoveryTM version 1.1 includes
significant enhancements of content related to disease targets for stem
cell therapy, cells involved in various diseases (such as Parkinson's
disease and age related macular degeneration), and a large number of
newly added genes relevant to developmental and stem cell biology.
According to Google Analytics, the integrated database suite had more
than 13,000,000 page views and more than 2,000,000 unique visitors in
the past 12 months. LifeMap clients and partners include dozens of
large, fee-paying pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, as well as
leading government patent offices, and its products are used free of
charge by scientists at more than a thousand academic institutions
worldwide. The integrated database suite also provides a technological
foundation for the potential development of additional LifeMap databases
and services that will leverage significant and growing web traffic.
Moreover, the platform drives life scientists to the LifeMap
BioReagents portal, which offers cutting-edge stem cell reagents. LifeMap
Discovery itself is rapidly becoming utilized by researchers
and has already reached an audience of 10,000 unique visitors since its
launch in November 2012 according to Google Analytics, demonstrating the
power of integration between the databases to drive rapid user-base
growth across various components of the integrated database suite.
LifeMap Discovery is a state-of-the-art roadmap of
embryonic development and stem cell biology. The platform integrates
embryonic development and stem cell biology with molecular, cellular,
anatomical, and disease-related information, and provides data-mining
capabilities and bioinformatics applications. LifeMap Discovery is
a unique and powerful tool for research and discovery in multiple
disciplines, including stem cell biology, developmental biology and
disease mechanisms and etiology. The platform is not only valuable for
clinical applications involving stem differentiation and therapies, it
will continue to be a key to future product development.
LifeMap DiscoveryTM is also a key component of
LifeMap's recently announced therapeutic discovery collaboration with
BioTime. The collaboration utilizes two approaches for identifying stem
cell-based therapeutic candidates based on selected PureStem
cell lines that are most likely to be useful in developing cell-based
regenerative medicine therapies. The first approach is targeting
selected diseases with large unmet medical needs for which clear and
relatively fast regulatory paths exist. The second approach is screening
for PureStem cell lines that are suitable for developing
therapies for a wide range of diseases to be followed with selecting the
most commercially attractive product candidates. By combining the two
approaches the companies expect the collaboration to generate a robust
pipeline of high value product candidates. The two companies will share
revenues resulting from commercialization of successful product
candidates that are discovered via the collaboration and have already
filed for patent protection on inventions jointly made by the teams with
an expectation to greatly accelerate the pace of discovery of potential
cures for the deadly degenerative diseases of aging.
LifeMap DiscoveryTM version 1.1 new features and
information include the following:
Newly mapped developmental paths, added to the previous existing
coverage of neural crest, motor neurons, blood, endothelium, bone,
cartilage, adipose, skeletal and smooth muscle, heart, kidney, liver,
Early development of intraembryonic tissues; from zygote through
epiblast and up to the three germ layers, as well as
extraembryonic tissues including; placenta, yolk sac, chorion and
Development of retinal lineages including; photoreceptors,
amacrine cells, bipolar cells, horizontal, ganglion and
Early brain development including neural ectoderm and neural tube,
as well as the first mapped brain lineage of dopaminergic neurons
in the substantia nigra, which are involved in Parkinson's disease
Development of brain barriers including the choroid plexus,
meninges, and endothelial cells related to blood-brain barriers
Reproductive system development including ovary, testis, and germ
cells (male and female gametocytes)
Tendon and ligament development
Stem cell differentiation into the above mentioned fates:
Differentiation into early embryonic tissues mainly to the three
germ layers (ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm) and to early
developed organs such as the paraxial mesoderm, gut tube, and
Differentiation protocols related to neural crest, neuronal
progenitors, motor and dopaminergic neurons, and neurons of the
peripheral nervous system
Differentiation into blood cells and endothelium, adipose tissue,
bone and cartilage, heart cells, eye photoreceptors and retinal
pigment epithelium cells, skeletal and smooth muscle cells,
kidney, liver, lung, pancreas, and thyroid cells
"LifeMap DiscoveryTM, Version 1.1, offers a
significant leap forward in the information we offer scientists in many
areas of biomedical research such as developmental and stem cell
biology," said Ronit Shtrichman, PhD, MBA, Vice President of Biology at
LifeMap Sciences. "We will continue to increase our offering of curated
biological data, providing the scientific, biotech and pharma
communities with a key resource for their research and discovery efforts
in the stem cell and regenerative medicine fields."
"We are delighted to see the rapid improvement of LifeMap
Discovery 's features and content," stated Yaron
Guan-Golan, Head of Marketing at LifeMap Sciences. "The recent growth in
traffic is a strong signal that LifeMap Discovery answers
a clear need for a comprehensive knowledgebase for developmental