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StemCells, Inc. Granted Key U.S. Patent Covering Composition of Neural Stem Cells Derived From Any Tissue Source, Including Embryonic
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Palo Alto, CA -- StemCells, Inc. (Nasdaq: STEM) announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued U.S. Patent Number 7,361,505 with broad claims covering human neural stem cells derived from any tissue source, including embryonic, fetal, juvenile, or adult tissue. The ‘505 patent is exclusively licensed to StemCells.
"The issuance of this patent rounds out and strengthens our neural stem cell portfolio, which we believe is unparalleled in its breadth, depth and completeness," said Martin McGlynn, President and CEO of StemCells, Inc. "We are confident that any third party wishing to commercialize neural stem cells as potential therapeutics or to use them as drug screening tools will have to seek a license from us irrespective of how they derive the cells. We have already granted licenses to several companies and are currently considering licensing others."
StemCells, Inc., including its wholly-owned subsidiary, StemCells California, Inc., owns or has exclusive rights to more than 50 issued or allowed U.S. patents and more than 150 granted or allowed non-U.S. patents. Most of these have application to the selection, expansion or use of neural stem cells, and include claims which cover compositions of matter, methods of identifying, isolating and enriching neural stem and progenitor cell populations, and methods of using these cells for therapeutic applications as well as for drug discovery and screening. The Company has patent protection for the manufacture and use of its HuCNS-SC® human neural stem cells through to the year 2024, even without relying on patent term extensions. Some of the Company’s other composition of matter patents, such as U.S. Patent Number 7,153,686 claim certain populations of enriched HuCNS-SC cells discovered by StemCells scientists. The Company has granted licenses to a number of companies in the neural stem cell field for limited purposes, including the U.S.-based BioWhittaker, Inc. (now part of the Swiss-based Lonza Group), UK-based ReNeuron Group plc, and Canadian-based Stem Cell Therapeutics Corp. and StemCell Technologies.
About StemCells, Inc.
StemCells, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of cell-based therapeutics to treat diseases of the central nervous system and liver. The Company’s product development programs seek to repair or repopulate CNS and liver tissue that has been damaged or lost as a result of disease or injury. StemCells has pioneered the discovery and development of HuCNS-SC® cells, its highly purified, expandable population of human neural stem cells. StemCells has completed enrollment and dosing of a six patient Phase I clinical trial of its proprietary HuCNS-SC product candidate as a treatment for neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (NCL) and expects the trial to be completed in early 2009. NCL, which is often referred to as Batten disease, is a rare and fatal neurodegenerative disease that affects infants and young children. Further information about the Company is available on its web site at: www.stemcellsinc.com.
Apart from statements of historical fact, the text of this press release constitutes forward-looking statements regarding, among other things, the future business operations of StemCells, Inc. (the "Company") and its ability to conduct clinical trials as well as its research and product development efforts. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this news release. StemCells does not undertake to update any of these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date hereof. Such statements reflect management’s current views and are based on certain assumptions that may or may not ultimately prove valid. The Company’s actual results may vary materially from those contemplated in the forward-looking statements due to risks and uncertainties to which the Company is subject, including uncertainties regarding the Company’s ability to obtain the increased capital resources needed to continue its current operations and to conduct the research, preclinical development and clinical trials necessary for regulatory approvals and continued patent prosecution efforts; uncertainty regarding the validity and enforceability of the Company’s existing patents, which may be questioned or contested through requests for reexamination and other legal proceedings; and other factors that are described under the heading "Risk Factors" in Item 1A of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K.
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