International Stem Cell Corporation (OTCBB:ISCO),
www.intlstemcell.com,
announced today that it had entered into a strategic alliance with The
Automation Partnership (TAP), www.automationpartnership.com,
to automate and scale up the production of stem cell-derived human
corneal tissue. The alliance has been formed to create instrumentation
for ISCO and its partners and affiliates to produce development and
commercial volumes of donor tissue for cornea transplantation and to
reduce the use of animals and animal eyes in safety testing of drugs,
chemicals and consumer products.
Cornea-related loss or reduction of vision can be caused by physical
injury, infections and degenerative diseases. In cases where cornea
replacement is indicated, current medical practice typically involves a
one-two hour outpatient procedure under local anesthesia using full or
partial corneas from healthy human cadavers. 10 million people worldwide
are candidates for such treatment, primarily in Asia and Europe where
there is significant quantitative and qualitative shortage of human
cornea donation.
Global efforts are underway to transition from the use of live animals
and excised animal eyes to test drugs, chemicals and consumer products.
For example, Europe's Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and
Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) estimates a need to spend €270M and use
160,000 animals for eye safety testing alone to catch up with the
back-log of insufficiently tested agents. In the US, the National
Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
have launched a five-year program dedicated to finding new, non-animal
technologies for toxicity testing of chemical compounds.
ISCO has discovered and filed for patents on a cell culture process for
the synthesis of standardized, human, corneal tissue using stem cells.
Histology, permeability and optical testing has demonstrated
compatibility with natural corneas. Efforts are ongoing to further
characterize this tissue and standardize and scale up its synthesis.
Automation is necessary to produce sufficient, reproducible tissue for
development and commercialization of the therapeutic and toxicity
testing applications.
Brian Lundstrom, ISCO's President, says: 'Given the substantial unmet
therapeutic and toxicology testing needs for human corneal tissue, ISCO
has embarked on a focused effort to advance this technology with
international investors, eye clinics, and development and
commercialization partners. After reviewing a range of potential cell
culture automation companies, we are very pleased that TAP has agreed to
contribute their over twenty years of experience towards this goal.'
David Newble, TAP's CEO says: 'TAP has successfully installed and
supported over 160 automated cell culture systems worldwide and
continues to design new and customize existing equipment for cell
culture and other emerging life science applications. The opportunity to
join forces with ISCO in the cornea tissue area will enable us to
contribute solutions for clear biomedical needs while also creating new
technology and knowhow that will be useful in other applications
downstream.'
ABOUT INTERNATIONAL STEM CELL CORPORATION (ISCO.OB):
International Stem Cell Corporation is a California-based biotechnology
company focused on therapeutic and research products. ISCO's core
technology, parthenogenesis, results in creation of pluripotent
human stem cells (hpSCs) from unfertilized oocytes (eggs). hpSCs avoid
ethical issues associated with the use or destruction of viable human
embryos. ISCO scientists have created the first parthenogenic,
homozygous stem cell line that can be a source of therapeutic cells
with minimal immune rejection after transplantation into hundreds of
millions of individuals of differing sexes, ages and racial groups. This
offers the potential to create the first true stem cell bank,
UniStemCell™, while avoiding the ethical issue of using fertilized eggs.
ISCO also produces and markets specialized cells and growth media for
therapeutic research worldwide through its subsidiary Lifeline Cell
Technology. More information is available at ISCO's website, www.internationalstemcell.com.
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About The Automation Partnership
The Automation Partnership (TAP) provides advanced automation systems
and services to improve productivity in life science research,
development and production.
For over 20 years TAP has been the leader in the design and development
of automated cell culture and processing systems with applications in
regenerative medicine, discovery research, bioprocess development and
biologics production. Systems include SelecT, CompacT SelecT and
Cellmate.
In addition, TAP has a strong track record in providing a range of
custom automation solutions for biobanking, biological sample
management, compound management and advanced high throughput screening
applications.
TAP is a privately-owned company with headquarters near Cambridge, UK
and a sales and support facility near Wilmington, Delaware, USA.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Statements pertaining to anticipated technological developments and
therapeutic applications, and other opportunities for the company and
its subsidiary, 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," "should," "believes," "plans,"
"anticipates," "expects," "estimates,") should also be considered to be
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties, including, without limitation, risks inherent in the
development and/or commercialization of potential products, uncertainty
in the results of clinical trials or regulatory approvals, need and
ability to obtain future capital, application of capital resources among
competing uses, and maintenance of intellectual property rights. Actual
results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these
forward-looking statements and as such should be evaluated together with
the many uncertainties that affect the company's business, particularly
those mentioned in the cautionary statements found in the company's
Securities and Exchange Commission filings. The company disclaims any
intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
Key Words: Stem Cells, Biotechnology, Parthenogenesis
International Stem Cell Corporation Kenneth C. Aldrich, Chairman 760-940-6383 kaldrich@intlstemcell.com Or Brian
Lundstrom, President 760-940-6383 bl@intlstemcell.com or The
Automation Partnership Matthew Walker Head of Communications +44
1763 227 200 Matthew.walker@automationpartnership.com |