SILVER SPRING, Md., May 6, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PharmaCyte Biotech, Inc. (OTCQB:PMCB), a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on developing targeted treatments for cancer and diabetes using its signature live-cell encapsulation technology, Cell-in-a-Box®, today announced that the Institute of Virology at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, one of the partners in PharmaCyte Biotech’s international Diabetes Consortium, has completed the first round of safety testing of the Melligen cells in mice.
The study showed that Melligen cells are as safe as the cells that were encapsulated with the Cell-in-a-Box® technology and then used together with the cancer drug ifosfamide to treat patients with advanced pancreatic cancer in previously conducted clinical trials. This safety study is the first study in animals of the Melligen cells that has been done as part of the work of the international Diabetes Consortium. Additional safety, as well as efficacy and dose finding studies, of the Melligen cells are planned for the near future.
Kenneth L. Waggoner, Chief Executive Officer of PharmaCyte Biotech, said, “We are pleased that our first test of the Melligen cells has shown favorable results. Given these results, we are moving forward with our efforts on multiple fronts to develop a treatment for insulin-dependent diabetes using PharmaCyte Biotech’s Cell-in-a-Box® technology to encapsulate Melligen cells. We believe that, by implanting encapsulated Melligen cells into diabetic patients, we will be able to eliminate the need for daily injections of insulin in diabetic patients. In our opinion, this therapy is at the forefront of finding a cure for Type 1 diabetes and for those patients with Type 2 diabetes in need of insulin.”
Melligen cells have shown promise as a potential treatment for insulin dependent diabetes through the genetic engineering of human, non-pancreatic beta cells that makes the Melligen cells capable of regulating blood sugar levels by producing insulin on demand. In the past, when Melligen cells were transplanted into diabetic mice, the blood glucose levels of the mice became normal. This observation illustrates that Melligen cells can reverse the diabetic condition in animals.
PharmaCyte Biotech has the exclusive worldwide rights to use the Melligen cells to treat diabetes. These rights were obtained from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) where Prof. Ann Simpson, along with her colleagues at UTS, have spent years developing this unique cell line.
About PharmaCyte Biotech
PharmaCyte Biotech is a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on developing and preparing to commercialize treatments for cancer and diabetes based upon a proprietary cellulose-based live cell encapsulation technology known as Cell-in-a-Box®. This unique and patented technology will be used as a platform upon which treatments for several types of cancer, including advanced, inoperable pancreatic cancer, and diabetes are being built. PharmaCyte Biotech’s treatment for pancreatic cancer involves low doses of the well-known anticancer prodrug ifosfamide, together with encapsulated live cells, which convert ifosfamide into its active or “cancer-killing” form. These capsules are placed as close to the cancerous tumor as possible to enable the delivery of the highest levels of the cancer-killing drug at the source of the cancer. This “targeted chemotherapy” has proven remarkably effective and safe in past clinical trials. PharmaCyte Biotech is also working towards improving the quality of life for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer and on treatments for other types of solid cancerous tumors.
In addition, PharmaCyte Biotech is developing treatments for cancer based upon chemical constituents of the Cannabis plant, known as cannabinoids. In doing so, PharmaCyte Biotech is examining ways to exploit the benefits of Cell-in-a-Box® technology in optimizing the anticancer effectiveness of cannabinoids, while minimizing or outright eliminating the debilitating side effects usually associated with cancer treatments. This provides PharmaCyte Biotech the rare opportunity to develop “green” approaches to fighting deadly diseases, such as cancer of the brain, breast and pancreas, which affect hundreds of thousands of individuals worldwide every year.
Safe Harbor
This press release may contain forward-looking statements regarding PharmaCyte Biotech and its future events and results that involve inherent risks and uncertainties. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan” and similar expressions, as they relate to PharmaCyte Biotech or its management, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Important factors, many of which are beyond the control of PharmaCyte Biotech, could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. They include PharmaCyte’s ability to continue as a going concern, delays or unsuccessful results in preclinical and clinical trials, flaws or defects regarding its product candidates, changes in relevant legislation or regulatory requirements, uncertainty of protection of PharmaCyte Biotech’s intellectual property and PharmaCyte Biotech’s continued ability to raise capital. PharmaCyte Biotech does not assume any obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements.
More information about PharmaCyte Biotech can be found at www.PharmaCyteBiotech.com. It can also be obtained by contacting Investor Relations.
CONTACT: Investor Relations Contacts: Jamien Jones Blueprint Life Science Group Telephone: 415.375.3340 Ext. 103 jjones@bplifescience.com
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