Data Presented at the 66th American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting
CARLSBAD, CA - (Marketwired) - 4/29/2014 - International Stem
Cell Corporation (OTCQB: ISCO) (www.internationalstemcell.com), a California-based biotechnology company developing novel
stem cell-based therapies and biomedical products announced today that some behavioral
improvements have been observed after six months in the pre-clinical non-human
primate (NHP) study of Parkinson’s disease (PD). The detailed behavioral data will be
presented at the 66th American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting in Philadelphia.
“It is encouraging to see these behavioral scores trending in
the right direction as it means that the implanted cells may be having a
positive impact on the disease symptoms,” said Professor D. Eugene Redmond Jr.
MD, of Yale University Medical School and the study’s supervisor. “The rating scores are equivalent
to components of the UPDRS which is
widely used in research to evaluate Parkinson’s patients. The
Parkison’s score is known to correlate very highly with brain dopamine
concentrations.”
The study consists of 18 primates, all exposed to the
neurotoxin, MPTP, divided into three cohorts, a sham treated group and two
treatment groups receiving different doses of human neural stem cells (hPNSC)
derived from ISCO’s proprietary parthenogenetic stem cell line. All of the groups had matching levels of
parkinsonism and functional disability prior to the cell injections. The 6 months data showed that the healthy
behavior scores of the treatment group increased 170% while that of the placebo
group increased by 58%. In addition, one
of the treatment groups demonstrated a significant improvement in the main
Parkinson’s rating score of 63% (p<0.05) while there was no significant
improvement in the control group. The changes
in these scores are particularly noteworthy as it signifies a greater reduction
in the severity of the symptoms in the treatment group compared with the
control group. A more detailed update
will be presented once the histopathology and biodistribution analysis of the
tissue has been completed.
Dr. Ruslan Semechkin ISCO’s Chief Scientific Office
commented: “The results of this interim analysis are very promising. This study provides information about how our
human neural stem cells, derived from our parthenogenetic stem cells, behave in
a diseased brain and how the diseased tissue responses and is a critical part
of our IND submission.”
About International
Stem Cell Corporation
International Stem Cell Corporation is focused on the
therapeutic applications of human parthenogenetic stem cells (hpSCs) and the
development and commercialization of cell-based research and cosmetic
products. ISCO's core technology,
parthenogenesis, results in the creation of pluripotent human stem cells from
unfertilized oocytes (eggs) hence avoiding ethical issues associated with the
use or destruction of viable human embryos.
ISCO scientists have created the first parthenogenetic, homozygous stem
cell line that can be a source of therapeutic cells for hundreds of millions of
individuals of differing genders, ages and racial background with minimal
immune rejection after transplantation. hpSCs offer the potential to create the
first true stem cell bank, UniStemCell™. ISCO also produces and markets
specialized cells and growth media for therapeutic research worldwide through
its subsidiary Lifeline Cell Technology (www.lifelinecelltech.com), and stem
cell-based skin care products through its subsidiary Lifeline Skin Care
(www.lifelineskincare.com). More information is available at www.internationalstemcell.com.
According to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, an estimated
seven to 10 million people worldwide live with PD, with as many as one million
of those in the United States alone, more than the combined total of people
diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, muscular distrophy, and Lou Gehrig’s
disease. The total direct and
indirect cost of Parkinson’s disease is
estimated to be nearly $25 billion per year in the United States alone.
ISCO's Parkinson's disease program uses human parthenogenetic
neural stem cells (hPNSC), a novel therapeutic cellular product derived from
the company's proprietary histocompatible human pluripotent stem cells. hPNSC are self-renewing multipotent cells
that are precursors for the major cells of the central nervous system. The ability of hPNSC to (i) differentiate
into dopaminergic (DA) neurons and (ii) express neurotrophic factors such as
glial derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and brain derived neurotrophic factor
(BDNF) to protect the nigrostriatal system, offers a new opportunity for the
treatment of Parkinson's disease, especially in cases where current small
molecule approaches fail to adequately control the symptoms.
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Contacts:
International
Stem Cell Corporation
Dr. Simon Craw
Executive Vice President
Phone: 760-940-6383
Dr. Ruslan Semechkin
Chief Scientific Officer
Phone: 760-940-6383
Email: ras@intlstemcell.com
