Indianapolis, IN, January 6, 2011-RenovoCyte, LLC. announced today it has entered into a license agreement with the San Diego-based company, Medistem, Inc. (PINKSHEETS; MEDS), to develop and commercialize cellular therapy based on Medistem’s proprietary universal donor endometrial regenerative cells (ERC) for use in veterinary applications.
“This partnership represents a unique collaboration in that Medistem’s ERC technology has already been used to treat humans.” Said Dr. Shelly Zacharias, Director of Veterinary Operations of RenovoCyte. “In this case much of what has been learned in humans will be adapted to animals to make an off-the-shelf product to put cellular medicine into the hands of every veterinarian.”
To date Medistem has reported the use of ERC in treatment of human patients with Multiple Sclerosis http://www.translational-medicine.com/content/pdf/1479-5876-7-15.pdf , Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19917503 , and Heart Failure http://www.intarchmed.com/content/pdf/1755-7682-3-5.pdf .
“Since we originally reported the discovery of Endometrial Regenerative Cells in 2007, at least 4 independent groups have used and published on cells with identical or near-identical properties to treat animals with diabetes, Parkinson’s, stroke, and heart failure.” Said Dr. Vladimir Bogin, Chairman and President of Medistem.
“It was an ideal fit to work with Medistem to commercialize ERCs in the veterinary space.” Said Dr. Erik Woods, President and CEO of RenovoCyte LLC. “Given their intellectual property position on these cells, combined with our extensive experience with cell manufacture and logistics, we are confident that we will accelerate our own development efforts in veterinary medicine, as well as advance the field of cell therapy forward.”
ERC are presently available at: http://gnrlbiotech.com/?page=catalog_endometrial_regenerative_cells
About RenovoCyte, LLC. RenovoCyte (www.renovocyte.com) is a cellular medicine company originating from a combination of laboratory and clinical excellence. RenovoCyte’s parent company, General BioTechnology, LLC (www.gnrlbiotech.com), is an internationally respected cell processing, cryopreservation and storage facility established in Indianapolis in 1997. In 2010, GBT joined forces with medical doctors, oral surgeons and veterinarians to launch RenovoCyte with the goal of responsibly and aggressively developing treatments using cell therapy for human beings, companion animals and horses for a wide range of diseases and injuries.
About Medistem, Inc.
Medistem Inc. is a biotechnology company developing technologies related to adult stem cell extraction, manipulation, and use for treating inflammatory and degenerative diseases. The company’s lead product, the endometrial regenerative cell (ERC), is a “universal donor” stem cell being developed for critical limb ischemia. A publication describing the support for use of ERC for this condition may be found at http://www.translational-medicine.com/content/pdf/1479-5876-6-45.pdf
