NEW YORK & PETACH TIKVAH, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. (OTCBB: BCLI), a leading developer of adult stem cell technologies and therapeutics, today announced that Abraham (Rami) Efrati, Chief Executive Officer, is resigning from his position at the Company in order to pursue other opportunities, effective February 28, 2011.
BrainStorm also announced that Former Israeli Consul General to New York and internationally respected foreign affairs analyst, Ambassador Alon Pinkas, has joined the Company’s Board of Directors, expanding BrainStorm’s board to six directors.
Mr. Alon Pinkas serves as Director for Ormat Industries Limited since April 22, 2007. Mr. Pinkas serves as Director at B.G.I. Investments (1961) Ltd. since 2005 and served as the General Consul of Israel in New York until 2004. Mr. Pinkas has a Bachelors Degree in Political Science from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a Masters Degree in Politics from Georgetown University.
“We thank Rami for his significant contributions during an important period in BrainStorm’s history and we are sorry to see him leave,” said Chaim Lebovits, President of BrainStorm. “We are very excited that Mr. Pinkas will join the board and will become a key member of our team as we continue to advance our NurOwn™ technology as a new treatment paradigm for patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurological disorders.”
Mr. Avi Israeli, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of BrainStorm, will head an executive search committee to recruit a new Chief Executive Officer that will lead BrainStorm, which is preparing for a Phase I/II clinical trial with the Company’s autologous NurOwn™ stem cell therapy in patients with ALS, often referred to as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. The study will be conducted in cooperation with the world-renowned Hadassah Medical Center and will be conducted by a joint team headed by the principal investigator Dimitrios Karussis, M.D., Ph.D., of the Hadassah Medical Center, and a scientific team from BrainStorm headed by Prof. Eldad Melamed. The initial phase of the study is designed to establish the safety of NurOwn™ and will later be expanded to assess efficacy.
The trial is expected to begin following validation of sterility tests requested by the Israeli Ministry of Health and screening of patients for the trial. Additional information regarding the process of selecting patients for the Phase I/II clinical trial will be communicated at a later date.
Mr. Pinkas said, “I was attracted to BrainStorm because of its tremendous potential to do good for the benefit of all of those ill in such terrible diseases. As BrainStorm is entering the exciting and extremely significant stage of human clinical trials, I hope to contribute my share in leading BrainStorm to achieving its goals for the benefit of its shareholders and more importantly for the benefit of humanity.”
About Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. According to the ALS Association, approximately 5,600 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with ALS each year and it is estimated that as many as 30,000 Americans may have the disease at any given time. The financial cost to families of patients is exceedingly high, and it is estimated that in the advanced stage, care can cost an average of $200,000 per year, which represents more than a $6 billion cost to the healthcare system.
About NurOwn™
BrainStorm’s core technology, NurOwn™, is based on the scientific achievements of Professor Eldad Melamed, former Head of Neurology, Rabin Medical Center, and Tel-Aviv University, and a member of the Scientific Committee of the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, and Professor Daniel Offen, Head of the Neuroscience Laboratory, Felsenstein Medical Research Center (FMRC) at the Tel-Aviv University.
The NurOwn™ technology processes adult human mesenchymal stem cells that are present in bone marrow and are capable of self-renewal as well as differentiation into many other cell types. The research team is among the first to have successfully achieved the in vitro differentiation of adult bone marrow cells (animal and human) into astrocyte-like cells capable of releasing neurotrophic factors, including glial-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF). The ability to induce differentiation into astrocyte-like cells along with intramuscular or intrathecal (or other) delivery makes NurOwn™ technology highly attractive for treating ALS and Parkinson’s disease as well as MS and spinal cord injury.
BrainStorm’s stem cell therapy contains human mesenchymal stromal cells induced to differentiate into astrocyte-like cells secreting neurotrophic factors by means of a specific differentiation-inducing culture medium.
About BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics, Inc.
BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. is an emerging company developing adult stem cell therapeutic products, derived from autologous (self) bone marrow cells, for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. The Company holds rights to develop and commercialize the technology through an exclusive, worldwide licensing agreement with Ramot at Tel Aviv University Ltd., the technology transfer company of Tel-Aviv University. For more information, visit the company’s website at www.brainstorm-cell.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
Statements in this announcement other than historical data and information constitute “forward-looking statements” and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc.'s actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements. The potential risks and uncertainties include risks associated with BrainStorm’s limited operating history, history of losses; minimal working capital, dependence on its license to Ramot’s technology; ability to adequately protect the technology; dependence on key executives and on its scientific consultants; ability to obtain required regulatory approvals; and other factors detailed in BrainStorm’s annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q available at http://www.sec.gov. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements made by us.
