SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwired - December 01, 2014) - Regen BioPharma (OTCBB: RGBP) announced today acceptance by the American Society for Hematology of a presentation by Christine Ichim, PhD, senior scientific research consultant to Regen BioPharma, at its annual meeting entitled “NR2F6 (EAR-2) Is a Novel Leukemia Oncogene Whose Cellular Function Is to Regulate Terminal Differentiation of Erythrocytes at the Proerythroblast Stage.” The work will be presented on Saturday December 6, 2014 at the West Building, Level 1 in the Moscone Center, San Francisco at 5:30 PM.
Results presented will include demonstration that bone marrow cells genetically engineered to express the NR2F6 gene cause healthy cells to turn leukemic when implanted into mice. The process by which the NR2F6 gene causes healthy cells to become leukemic is associated with blocking the ability of the bone marrow cells to make red blood cells. This instead causes production of immature cells termed “proerythroblasts.” Furthermore, the study demonstrates that, at a molecular level, the protein made by the NR2F6 gene needs to bind DNA in order for healthy cells to turn leukemic.
“While chemotherapy and radiation therapy non-selectively kill all replicating cells, both cancer and healthy cells, thus causing severe toxicity, targeted therapies such as kinase inhibitors (e.g.: Gleevec by Novartis $4.7 billion in 2012)(1) and proteasome inhibitors (e.g.: Velcade by J&J and Takeda $2.3 billion in sales in 2012)(2) specifically inhibit molecular processes of cancer cells but not other multiplying cells in the body. Dr. Christine Ichim found that the NR2F6 gene is essential for the process of cancer formation, thus potentially offering a new target for development of targeted therapies,” said Dr. Thomas Ichim, Regen BioPharma’s Chief Scientific Officer.
“It is important to note that when inhibition of this gene with gene silencing was performed, the leukemic cells reverted back to a state resembling non-malignant cells. Thus we believe that developing therapies that block NR2F6 could lead to a whole new class of targeted therapeutics,” according to Christine Ichim, PhD.
Currently Regen BioPharma is developing small molecule inhibitors of NR2F6, as well as shRNA gene-silencing of this gene. Gene-silencing has previously been utilized by Regen BioPharma in development of its dCellVax breast cancer vaccine IND application, as well as in peer-reviewed publications that Regen has co-authored(3, 4).
Intellectual property covering the use of NR2F6, as well as means of targeting it, was filed by the University of Toronto with Dr. Christine Ichim, and hematologist Dr. Richard Wells as inventors. All patent and intellectual property rights to this patent application were acquired by Regen BioPharma.
“I am enthusiastic at the rapid pace, and translationally-focused approach that Regen BioPharma is taking to turn these findings into clinically-relevant approaches to helping cancer patients,” stated David Koos, Chairman & CEO. “One of the fascinating results of the experiments that will be presented is that gene-silencing of NR2F6 results not in death of the leukemic cells but a type of ‘repair’ in that normal blood production ensues. This approach to curing cancer by “healing” the malignancy, to my knowledge, is highly innovative and I am pleased with the strong interest in this work that we have been receiving.”
About Regen BioPharma Inc.: Regen BioPharma Inc. (OTCBB: RGBP) is a majority owned subsidiary of Bio-Matrix Scientific Group, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: BMSN). Regen is a biotechnology company focused on identifying undervalued regenerative medicine applications in the stem cell space and rapidly advancing these technologies through pre-clinical and Phase I/ II clinical trials. Currently the Company is focused on developing treatments for Aplastic Anemia and a gene silencing therapy for treating cancer. For more information refer to the company’s website http://www.regenbiopharma.com/
Disclaimer: This news release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified. Future events and actual results could differ materially from those set forth in, contemplated by, or underlying the forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties to which forward looking statements are subject include, but are not limited to, the effect of government regulation, competition and other material risks.
(1) http://www.fiercepharma.com/special-reports/gleevec
(2) http://www.fiercepharma.com/special-reports/velcade/top-20-orphan-drugs-2018
(3) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4040111/pdf/1479-5876-12-142.pdf
(4) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3293054/
Contact:
Regen BioPharma Inc.
David R. Koos, PhD
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
Phone: 619-702-1404
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