SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.,
Dec. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/
-- VistaGen Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: VTGN), a clinical-stage
biopharmaceutical company focused on developing new generation
therapies for depression and other central nervous system
(CNS) disorders, today announced it has signed an exclusive
sublicense agreement with BlueRock Therapeutics, a stem cell
research company established by Bayer AG and Versant Ventures, for
VistaGen's rights to certain proprietary technologies relating to
the production of cardiac stem cells for the treatment of heart
disease. VistaGen licensed exclusive rights of the cardiac
stem cell technologies from University Health Network (UHN),
Canada's largest research
hospital, pursuant to a strategic research agreement with UHN and
distinguished UHN researcher, Dr. Gordon
Keller, Director of UHN's McEwen Centre for Regenerative
Medicine (McEwen Centre), one of the world's leading centers for
stem cell and regenerative medicine research. Under the sublicense
agreement, VistaGen will receive an upfront cash payment of
$1.25 million, as well as potential
future milestone payments and royalties.
"Cardiac cell therapy and regenerative medicine offer new hope
for patients battling heart attacks and heart disease worldwide,"
stated Shawn Singh, Chief Executive Officer of VistaGen. "We
believe BlueRock will play the leading role in the advancement of
potentially life-changing cardiac cellular therapies, advancing
these and other ground-breaking discoveries well beyond the lab and
into the clinic, while we continue to focus our efforts on
advancing AV-101 through Phase 2 clinical development for major
depressive disorder and other CNS indications."
About VistaGen
VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:
VTGN), is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on
developing new generation therapies for depression and other
central nervous system (CNS) disorders. VistaGen's lead CNS
product candidate, AV-101, is a new generation, orally available
prodrug in Phase 2 development, initially for the adjunctive
treatment of MDD in patients with inadequate response to standard,
FDA-approved antidepressants. AV-101 is currently being evaluated
in an ongoing Phase 2a clinical study being conducted by Principal
Investigator, Dr. Carlos Zarate Jr.,
of the NIMH, and fully funded by the NIMH. VistaGen is also
preparing to initiate in the first half of 2017 a Phase 2b clinical
study of AV-101 as an adjunctive treatment of MDD in patients with
inadequate response to standard, FDA-approved antidepressants.
VistaStem Therapeutics is VistaGen's wholly owned subsidiary
focused on applying human pluripotent stem cell technology to
discover, rescue, develop and commercialize proprietary new
chemical entities (NCEs), including small molecule NCEs with
regenerative potential, for CNS and other diseases, as well as
potential cellular therapies involving stem cell-derived blood,
cartilage and liver cells.
For more information, please visit www.vistagen.com and connect
with VistaGen on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.
Forward-Looking Statements
The statements in this
press release that are not historical facts may constitute
forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations
and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
future results to differ materially from those expressed or implied
by such statements. Those risks and uncertainties include, but are
not limited to, risks related to the preclinical and/or clinical
development and commercialization of licensed and/or sublicensed
cardiac stem technology for cell therapy, drug discovery, drug
rescue or regenerative medicine, including the development and
commercialization activities described above. These and other risks
and uncertainties are identified and described in more detail in
VistaGen's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC). These filings are available on the SEC's website at
www.sec.gov. VistaGen undertakes no obligation to publicly update
or revise any forward-looking statements.
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SOURCE VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc.