International Stem Cell (OTCBB:ISCO), www.internationalstemcell.com,
announced today that data from an independent third party laboratory has
confirmed that it has successfully created tissue compatible with a
human cornea from embryonic stem cells. ISCO has repeated the
experiments using its stem cells derived from unfertilized human eggs,
called parthenogenetic human embryonic stem cells (phESC or parthenote
stem cells). The use of ISCO's parthenote may
also substantially reduce the likelihood of immune rejection in patients.
The laboratory report indicated "H&E cell
staining shows the 10mm clear/white tissue sphere is compatible with
corneal tissue. The structure consisted of several cell layers and
structures normally found in a human cornea, but lacked others, such as
a definite endothelial layer."
The company announced in June 2007 that it was the first to deliberately
create human parthenogenetic stem cell lines from non-fertilized eggs.
This scientific breakthrough, which announced the creation of six human
parthenote stem cell lines, was published in scientific peer review
publication Cloning & Stem Cells Journal.
Today's announcement is part of ISCO's
effort to use its parthenote cells to create cell transplant therapies
for diseases of the eye. It plans to further develop the corneal
technology with a goal of routinely growing living human corneas in the
laboratory for use in human corneal transplants.
"This development should also be well received
in foreign markets where corneal transplants from cadaver donations are
far less available than in the United States,"
said Jeff Krstich, CEO of ISCO. "The cells may
also be highly useful to pharmaceutical and cosmetic firms both in the
US and internationally that are seeking an alternative to current
practices of testing chemicals in the eyes of live animals."
Although this initial discovery is promising, it is preliminary,
according to Krstich. "More work and testing
must be done before human clinical trials can begin. It is likely ISCO
will seek out collaboration partners to expedite progress in this area." "What is amazing is that the stem cells began
a process of change and self-assembly when subject to the right culture
conditions, manipulations and spatial orientations, forming a beautiful
clear spherical cornea like structure. Further work on cell
differentiation and testing physical properties will be necessary,"
said Jeffrey Janus, President and Director of Research at ISCO. "This
could be a less expensive and more efficient method to meet the
overwhelming need for corneal tissue outside the US, where such living
corneal constructs may be useful to cure forms of blindness." ABOUT INTERNATIONAL STEM CELL CORPORATION:
International Stem Cell is a biotechnology company currently focused on
developing therapeutic and research products. In the area of therapeutic
product development, ISCO's objective is to create an unlimited source
of human cells for use in the treatment of several diseases, including
diabetes, liver disease and retinal disease through cell transplant
therapy. In furtherance of this objective, ISCO has developed
pluripotent human stem cells from unfertilized human eggs, and
techniques to cause those stem cells to be "differentiated" into the
specific cell types required for transplant. It has developed
manufacturing protocols to produce the cells minimizing contamination
with animal by-products, a characteristic likely to be important in
meeting U.S. Food and Drug Administration requirements. ISCO also
provides the specialized cells and growth media needed for therapeutic
cell transplantation research to academic and commercial researchers in
related fields. For more information, visit the ISCO website at: www.internationalstemcell.com.
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intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements. KEY WORDS:Stem Cells,Biotechnology |
