ROCKVILLE, Md., Nov. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Stem cell company, Neuralstem, Inc. , today announced that it has exclusively licensed the “Spinal Multisegmental Cell and Drug Delivery System,” invented by Dr. Martin Marsala at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). The exclusive, worldwide license to Neuralstem covers all fields of use and includes the right to grant sublicenses. Under the terms of the agreement, UCSD will be eligible for milestone payments and royalties and Neuralstem will assume the cost of development, manufacture and approval of the product.
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“Neuralstem is actively pursuing human clinical trials for its human spinal cord stem cells to treat Ischemic Paraplegia, ALS and Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury,” said Neuralstem CEO Richard Garr. “All three indications require delivering our cells directly into the spinal cord. We believe that Dr. Marsala’s injection device will allow for a minimally invasive injection of the cells into the spinal cord, thus significantly reducing the risk of the surgery to any patients receiving cell or drug therapy administered directly into the spinal cord.”
“The device provides a unique method for delivering cells horizontally along the length of the spinal cord,” said Dr. Marsala, “which will reduce the number of entry sites needed for therapeutic intervention. We believe that this will greatly enhance the likelihood of success for treating many indications.” Dr. Marsala went on to say, “Neuralstem has not only shown a strong commitment to moving their spinal cord stem cells into the clinic, but to creating a therapy that can be broadly and safely delivered. We are excited to have them as our exclusive licensee for this important technology.”
About Neuralstem
Neuralstem’s patent-protected technology enables, for the first time, the ability to produce neural stem cells of the human brain and spinal cord in commercial quantities, and the ability to control the differentiation of these cells into mature, physiologically relevant human neurons and glia. The Company expects that its first Investigational New Drug (IND) application will be for the treatment of Ischemic Paraplegia, a form of paraplegia that sometimes results from the surgery to repair aortic aneurysms and for which there is no effective treatment. The Company anticipates it will submit its initial IND application to the FDA during calendar year 2007.
Major Central Nervous System diseases targeted by the Company with research programs currently underway include: Ischemic Paraplegia, Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury, ALS, and Parkinson’s disease. The company’s cells recently extended the life of rats with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) in a paper published in the journal TRANSPLANTATION, and were deemed viable for continued work in neurodegenerative spinal conditions. Neuralstem cells also reversed paralysis in rats with Ischemic Spastic Paraplegia, a form of paralysis that can result from the surgery to repair aortic aneurysms, as reported in NEUROSCIENCE (http://www.neuroscienceibro.com/). The company has also developed immortalized human neural stem cells for in-vitro use in drug development for the academic and pharmaceutical markets. For further information, please visit http://www.neuralstem.com.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Information
This press release may contain forward-looking information about Neuralstem, Inc., which are intended to be covered by the safe harbor for forward-looking statements provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward- looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. These statements can be identified by the use of forward- looking terminology such as “believe,” “expect,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “project,” “plan,” “seek,” “intend,” or “anticipate” or the negative thereof or comparable terminology, and include discussions of strategy, and statements about industry trends and Neuralstem’s future performance, operations and products. This and other “Risk Factors” contained in Neuralstem’s public filings with the SEC should be read in connection with this release. For further information on Neuralstem, please review the company’s filings with the SEC including periodic reports, including the quarterly report on Form 10- Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2007.
CONTACT: Richard Garr, President of Neuralstem, Inc., +1-301-366-4960;
investors, Ira Weingarten, +1-805-897-1880, or Steve Chizzik,
+1-908-688-9111, both of Equity Communications for Neuralstem, Inc.; media,
Deanne Eagle of Planet Communications, +1-917-837-5866, for Neuralstem,
Inc.
Web site: http://www.neuralstem.com/
http://www.neuroscienceibro.com/
