Full Press Release Details
VistaGen Therapeutics Grants Exclusive Sublicense of Cardiac
Cell Technologies to BlueRock Therapeutics
VistaGen to receive upfront payment of $1.25M
South San Francisco, CA (December 14, 2016)
Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: VTGN), a clinical-stage
biopharmaceutical company focused on developing new generation
therapies for depression and other central nervous system
(CNS) disorders, today
announced it has signed an exclusive sublicense agreement with
BlueRock Therapeutics, a stem cell research company established by
Bayer AG and Versant Ventures, for VistaGen's rights to
certain proprietary technologies relating to the production of
cardiac stem cells for the treatment of heart disease. VistaGen
licensed exclusive rights of the cardiac stem cell technologies
from University Health Network (UHN), Canada's largest research
hospital, pursuant to a strategic research agreement with UHN and
distinguished UHN researcher, Dr. Gordon Keller, Director of UHN's
McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine (McEwen Centre), one of the
world's leading centers for stem cell and regenerative medicine
research. Under the sublicense agreement, VistaGen will receive an
upfront cash payment of $1.25 million, as well as potential future
milestone payments and royalties.
Cardiac cell therapy and regenerative medicine offer new
hope for patients battling heart attacks and heart disease
worldwide, stated Shawn Singh, Chief
Executive Officer of VistaGen. We believe BlueRock will play the leading
role in the advancement of potentially life-changing cardiac
cellular therapies, advancing these and other ground-breaking
discoveries well beyond the lab and into the clinic, while we continue to focus our efforts on
advancing AV-101 through Phase 2 clinical development for major
depressive disorder and other CNS
Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: VTGN), is a clinical-stage
biopharmaceutical company focused on developing new generation
therapies for depression and other central nervous system
VistaGen's lead CNS product candidate, AV-101, is a new
generation, orally available prodrug in Phase 2 development,
initially for the adjunctive treatment of MDD in patients with
inadequate response to standard, FDA-approved antidepressants.
AV-101 is currently being evaluated in an ongoing Phase 2a clinical
study being conducted by Principal Investigator, Dr. Carlos Zarate
Jr., of the NIMH, and fully funded by the NIMH. VistaGen is also
preparing to initiate in the first half of 2017 a Phase 2b clinical
study of AV-101 as an adjunctive
treatment of MDD in patients with inadequate response to
standard, FDA-approved antidepressants.
Therapeutics is VistaGen's wholly owned subsidiary focused on
applying human pluripotent stem cell technology to discover,
rescue, develop and commercialize proprietary new chemical entities
(NCEs), including small molecule NCEs with regenerative potential,
for CNS and other diseases, as well as potential cellular therapies
involving stem cell-derived blood, cartilage and liver
more information, please visit www.vistagen.com
and connect with VistaGen on Twitter,
Forward-Looking Statements
The statements in this press release that are not historical facts
may constitute forward-looking statements that are based on current
expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual future results to differ materially from those
expressed or implied by such statements. Those risks and
uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risks related to the
preclinical and/or clinical development and commercialization of
licensed and/or sublicensed cardiac stem technology for cell
therapy, drug discovery, drug rescue or regenerative medicine,
including the development and commercialization activities
described above. These and other risks and uncertainties are
identified and described in more detail in VistaGen's filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These filings are available on the SEC's
website at www.sec.gov.
VistaGen undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statements.
VistaGen Therapeutics Inc.
Phone: +1 (650) 577-3600
Email: IR@vistagen.com
Jenene Thomas Communications, LLC
Phone: +1 (908) 938-1475
VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc.