Amarantus
Subsidiary
Cutanogen Corporation
Announces Patent Issuance in Hong Kong Covering
ESS, Pigmented ESS and Gene Therapy-Modified
ESS
- Patent Issuance Opens Potential to genetically
modify cells used to produce ESS
- Peer-Reviewed publication demonstrates
improved donor cosmetic skin color
matching of melanocytes-implanted
ESS vs. original ESS in
animals
SAN FRANCISCO, California
USA -
January 4,
2018 Amarantus Bioscience Holdings,
Inc. (OTCPK:
AMBS), a US-based biotechnology
holding
company
with
wholly-owned subsidiaries developing
first-in-class orphan
neurologic, regenerative medicine
and
ophthalmic therapies, today announced that its wholly-owned
subsidiary Cutanogen Corporation was issued a patent in Hong Kong entitled
"Surgical device for skin therapy or
testing" covering the method of producing Engineered
Skin Substitute for the treatment of skin-related conditions
and/or testing of
potential
treatments for skin-related
conditions. The patent includes claims relating to the
method of manufacturing ESS, methods for adding melanocytes to ESS
to improve skin color-matching for patients, and methods for
genetically-modifying ESS. Cutanogen Corporation is currently in the
planning phases for the pivotal development of ESS for the
treatment of life-threatening pediatric severe burns based upon
data published in the peer-reviewed medical Journal of
Burn Care & Research entitled "Randomized, Paired-Site
Comparison of Autologous Engineered Skin Substitutes and
Split-Thickness Skin Graft for Closure of Extensive, Full-Thickness
Burns".
In
addition, Cutanogen announced the publication of a
peer-reviewed article in the scientific journal Pigment Cell
& Melanoma entitled "Restoration of
cutaneous pigmentation by transplantation to mice of isogeneic
human melanocytes in dermalepidermal engineered skin
substitutes" in which the authors
demonstrate
the potential to
safely add melanocytes to ESS to produce pigmented skin that is
similar in
color to
original donor skin pigment. The addition of melanocytes to
ESS, which is covered by US and International intellectual property
to which Cutanogen Corporation has exclusive
rights, would provide for a new product opportunity beyond the
non-pigmented ESS product currently being
developed for the treatment of catastrophic life-threatening severe
burns. Pigmented ESS would
significantly expand the market opportunity for ESS into the $130B
global cosmetic skin care market.
About Cutanogen
Corporation
Engineered Skin
Substitute (ESS) is a tissue-engineered skin prepared from
autologous (patient's own) skin cells. It is a combination of
cultured epithelium and a collagen-dermal fibroblast implant that
produces a skin substitute which contains both epidermal and dermal
components. This model has been shown in preclinical studies to
generate a functional skin barrier. Most importantly, because ESS
is composed of a patient's own cells, it is less likely to be
rejected by the immune system of the patient, unlike with porcine
or cadaver grafts in which immune system rejection is a
possibility. A non-GMP version ESS has been used in
investigator-initiated and compassionate-use clinical settings in
over 150 human subjects, primarily pediatric patients, for the
treatment of severe burns up to 95% of total body surface area. The
non-GMP version has also been used in the treatment of two patients
with Giant Congenital Melanocytic Nevi (GCMN).
In July
2015, Amarantus' acquired Lonza Walkersville's
wholly-owned subsidiary Cutanogen
Corporation, the
sole licensor of intellectual property rights to ESS from
Cincinnati's Shriner's Hospital for Children and the University of
Cincinnati. Cutanogen Corporation is a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Amarantus.
About
Amarantus Bioscience
Holdings, Inc.
Amarantus Bioscience Holdings (AMBS) is a
biotechnology company developing treatments and diagnostics for
diseases in the areas of neurology, regenerative medicine and
orphan diseases through its
subsidiaries. AMBS' wholly-owned
subsidiary Elto Pharma, Inc. has development rights to
eltoprazine, a Phase 2b-ready small molecule indicated for
Parkinson's disease levodopa-induced dyskinesia,
Alzheimer's
aggression and adult ADHD. AMBS acquired the rights to the
Engineered Skin Substitute program (ESS), a regenerative
medicine-based approach for treating severe burns with
full-thickness autologous skin grown in tissue culture
that is being
pursued by AMBS' wholly-owned subsidiary Cutanogen
Corporation.
AMBS' wholly-owned subsidiary MANF Therapeutics, Inc. owns
key intellectual property
rights and
licenses from a number of prominent universities related to the
development of the therapeutic protein known as
mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor
(MANF). MANF Therapeutics, Inc. is developing MANF-based
products as treatments for brain and ophthalmic
disorders.
MANF was discovered by the Company's Chief Scientific Officer John
Commissiong, PhD. Dr. Commissiong
discovered MANF from AMBS' proprietary discovery
engine PhenoGuard. AMBS also owns approximately
80 million shares
of Avant Diagnostics, Inc. via the sale of its wholly-owned
subsidiary Amarantus Diagnostics, Inc.
that occurred in
May 2016.
For further information please
visit www.Amarantus.com, or connect with the
Amarantus
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Amarantus
Investor and Media Contact:
Ascendant Partners,
LLC
Richard Galterio
+1-732-410-9810
rich@ascendantpartnersllc.com
Source: Amarantus Bioscience Holdings,
Inc.