10 March 2011: Sydney, Australia & Auckland, New Zealand. Living Cell Technologies Limited (ASX: LCT; OTCQX: LVCLY), a global company pioneering the development of a cell implant therapy to treat diabetes, today announced that Medical Director and founder Professor Robert Elliot has been awarded the prestigious “World Class New Zealand Award.” The Awards are described as one of the country’s most important accolades for outstanding individuals who have made major contributions to New Zealand’s success on the world stage.
“It’s a great honour to receive this recognition for my life’s work to find an effective treatment for diabetes,” says Dr. Bob Elliot. “We see the great need to improve the health and lifestyles of people with diabetes and I am very appreciative that the award selection committee has acknowledged the contribution our revolutionary DIABECELL® treatment will make to the world.”
DIABECELL, now is final stages of Phase II clinical trials, is designed to help normalise the lives of people with unstable Type 1 diabetes. Tiny DIABECELL microspheres containing live islet cells are implanted into a patient’s abdomen using a simple laparoscopic procedure. Once implanted, DIABECELL works by self-regulating and efficiently secreting insulin and glucagon in response to the patient’s changing glucose levels.
This is the eighth year that leaders in fields, including life sciences, business and finance have received the World Class New Zealand Awards. They are sponsored by the federal department, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, and KEA, an organisation dedicated helping connect New Zealand with the rest of the world through building a network of global citizens who take an active interest in the future of the country.
LCT CEO and Managing Director Dr Ross Macdonald said: “Bob is a very deserving person for this award. He has dedicated his life to improving people’s health and finding effective treatments for a range of disease. While he gets most attention for work in Diabetes, Bob is also leading the development of treatments for other illnesses, including Parkinson’s disease.”
“Few also know that he helped with the development of a type of milk now widely available in supermarkets, which is high in the A2 protein and offers a range of health benefits. We are very proud of his contributions to New Zealand and the world.”
The awards will be presented Wednesday, 6 April at a black-tie gala in in Auckland. Other winners can be found at http://www.keanewzealand.com/sites/default/files/2011-wcnz-awards.pdf.
For further information: www.lctglobal.com
At the company:
Dr Ross Macdonald CEO, Living Cell Technologies Tel: +64 9 270 2690 Mobile: +61 (0) 412119343 rmacdonald@lctglobal.com
Media and investor enquiries:
NZ and Australia: Buchan Consulting Rebecca Wilson Tel: +61 3 9866 4722 Mobile: +61 417 382 391 rwilson@bcg.com.au
About Living Cell Technologies - www.lctglobal.com
Living Cell Technologies (LCT) is developing cell-based products to treat life threatening human diseases. The Company owns a biocertified pig herd that it uses as a source of cells for treating diabetes and neurological disorders. For patients with Type 1 diabetes, the Company transplants microencapsulated islet cells so that near-normal blood glucose levels may be achieved without the need for administration of insulin or at significantly reduced levels. The Company entered clinical trials for its diabetes product in 2007. For the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and other neurological disorders, the company transplants microencapsulated choroid plexus cells that deliver beneficial proteins and neurotrophic factors to the brain. LCT’s technology enables healthy living cells to be injected into patients to replace or repair damaged tissue without requiring the use of immunosuppressive drugs to prevent rejection. LCT also offers medical-grade porcine-derived products for the repair and replacement of damaged tissues, as well as for research and other purposes.
