AgeX Therapeutics & Juvenescence Publish Paper on Engineering Strategies for Universal Cells & Provide in Vivo Observation on...
October 30 2019 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
- Paper published in peer-reviewed journal Regenerative
Medicine
- UniverCyteTM platform aims to utilize proprietary, novel,
modified form of immunomodulatory molecule HLA-G to generate
universal allogeneic cells to enable off-the-shelf therapeutics
without the need for immunosuppressants
- Previously unpublished in vivo observation signals that
UniverCyte-modified allogeneic cells may be potentially
hypoimmunogenic in humanized mouse model
- Co-authors are Drs. Nafees Malik and Gregory Bailey of AgeX and
Juvenescence, Dr. Annalisa Jenkins of AgeX, and Jim Mellon,
Chairman of Juvenescence
AgeX Therapeutics, Inc. (“AgeX”; NYSE American: AGE), a
biotechnology company developing therapeutics for human aging and
regeneration, and Juvenescence, a life sciences company developing
therapeutics and technologies to treat diseases of aging and to
increase human longevity, announce the publication of a new paper
in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Regenerative Medicine. The
paper is on the engineering of allogeneic cells to be
hypoimmunogenic (universal), so as not to produce an immune
response. The strategies reviewed in the paper include deletion of
human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class Ia/II proteins, expression of
HLA class Ib molecules, and manipulation of immune checkpoints.
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In addition, the paper presents a previously unpublished in vivo
observation on allogeneic human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs)
modified with AgeX’s proprietary immunotolerance technology,
UniverCyteTM. In humanized mice (those with a functional human
immune system), UniverCyte-positive hPSCs formed larger and heavier
tissue compared to controls. This observation provides support for
the premise that UniverCyte-expressing tissue was potentially
hypoimmunogenic and might have escaped recognition by a functional
human immune system and continued to grow. Further work is required
to substantiate this preliminary in vivo finding.
“Hypoimmunogenic allogeneic cells are the Holy Grail in
regenerative medicine, and a number of accomplished researchers
have made great strides toward engineering them over the last few
years,” commented Dr. Nafees Malik, Chief Operating Officer at
AgeX, Head of Cell & Gene Therapy at Juvenescence (a major
investor in AgeX), and lead author on the paper. “This is a huge
area of focus for us at AgeX, via our UniverCyte technology
platform. In support of our own research and as a service to the
overall field, we decided to put together this paper, analyzing all
the leading strategies to engineer universal cells and
encapsulating them in one paper.”
Dr. Malik’s co-authors on the paper are Gregory Bailey, MD,
Chairman of the Board of Directors of AgeX and CEO of Juvenescence;
Annalisa Jenkins, MBBS, FRCP, who serves on the Board of Directors
of AgeX; and Jim Mellon, Chairman of Juvenescence.
Mr. Mellon added, “AgeX’s UniverCyte technology platform will
not only be important to the company in developing in-house
therapies, it may also be transformative for the wider cell therapy
industry via collaborations and licensing deals. It is quite
conceivable that in the near future, allogeneic cell therapies may
potentially need to be universal to be clinically and commercially
competitive.”
AgeX is developing its UniverCyte technology platform at its new
15,700-square-feet R&D facility, in the San Francisco Bay Area,
which has current good manufacturing practices (cGMP)-capable
manufacturing capacity.
“Universal cells would help us and others to fulfill the
original vision of cell therapy,” said Dr. Bailey. “Thus, I am
pleased that my colleagues at AgeX and Juvenescence have put
together this paper, as it should be of considerable benefit to
researchers, possibly enabling them to accelerate their progress.”
He added, “AgeX’s UniverCyte technology uses a novel, modified form
of the tolerogenic molecule HLA-G, which in nature plays a key role
in preventing a mother from rejecting her semi-allogeneic
baby.”
The paper is being published online ahead of print on Wednesday,
October 30, 2019. It may be found here.
About AgeX Therapeutics
AgeX Therapeutics, Inc. (NYSE American: AGE) is focused on
developing and commercializing innovative therapeutics for human
aging. Its PureStem® and UniverCyte™ manufacturing and
immunotolerance technologies are designed to work together to
generate highly-defined, universal, allogeneic, off-the-shelf
pluripotent stem cell-derived young cells of any type for
application in a whole host of diseases with a high unmet medical
need. AgeX has two preclinical cell therapy programs: AGEX-VASC1
(vascular progenitor cells) for tissue ischemia and AGEX-BAT1
(brown fat cells) for Type II diabetes. AgeX’s revolutionary
longevity platform named induced Tissue Regeneration (iTR™) aims to
unlock cellular immortality and regenerative capacity to reverse
age-related changes within tissues. AGEX-iTR1547 is an iTR-based
formulation in preclinical development. HyStem® is AgeX’s delivery
technology to stably engraft PureStem cell therapies and slowly
release iTR molecules in the body. AgeX is developing its core
product pipeline for use in the clinic to extend human healthspan
and is seeking opportunities to form licensing and partnership
agreements around its broad IP estate and proprietary technology
platforms for non-core clinical applications.
For more information, please visit www.agexinc.com or connect
with the company on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.
About Juvenescence
Juvenescence is a life sciences company developing therapies to
increase healthy human longevity. It was founded by Jim Mellon, Dr.
Greg Bailey and Dr. Declan Doogan. The Juvenescence team are highly
experienced drug developers, entrepreneurs and investors with a
significant history of success in the life sciences sector.
Juvenescence will create, partner with or invest in new companies
with longevity-related therapeutics, by in-licensing compounds from
academia and industry, or forming joint ventures to develop
therapeutics for longevity. Juvenescence believes that recent
advances in science have greatly improved our understanding of the
biology of aging and seeks to develop therapeutics with the
possibility of slowing, halting or potentially reversing elements
of aging.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this release are
“forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements that are
not historical fact including, but not limited to statements that
contain words such as “will,” “believes,” “plans,” “anticipates,”
“expects,” “estimates” should also be considered forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from the
results anticipated in these forward-looking statements and as such
should be evaluated together with the many uncertainties that
affect the business of AgeX Therapeutics, Inc. and its
subsidiaries, particularly those mentioned in the cautionary
statements found in more detail in AgeX’s reports filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commissions (copies of which may be
obtained at www.sec.gov). Subsequent events and developments may
cause these forward-looking statements to change. AgeX specifically
disclaims any obligation or intention to update or revise these
forward-looking statements as a result of changed events or
circumstances that occur after the date of this release, except as
required by applicable law.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191030005329/en/
AgeX Therapeutics, Inc. Dr Nafees Malik, COO
nmalik@agexinc.com
Bill Douglass (Media) Gotham Communications, LLC
bill@gothamcomm.com (646) 504-0890
Juvenescence David Ellam, CFO david@juvenescence.ltd
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