AgeX Therapeutics Enters Research Collaboration With Japanese Biopharma Company to Generate Hypoimmunogenic Cells
January 29 2020 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
- First research collaboration for immunotolerance UniverCyteTM
technology platform, marking launch of new business development and
collaboration strategy
- Secures milestone collaboration in Japan, where cell therapy
R&D is advancing rapidly in a favourable regulatory and
commercial environment
- UniverCyte platform has potential to deliver cells as
therapeutics that do not require immunosuppressive therapy
AgeX Therapeutics, Inc. (“AgeX”; NYSE American: AGE), a
biotechnology company developing therapeutics for human aging and
regeneration, announced today a research collaboration with a
Japanese biopharma company utilizing AgeX’s HLA-G-based
immunotolerance UniverCyteTM technology platform for the
engineering of hypoimmunogenic (universal) cells. The research
program will evaluate the expression of UniverCyte on induced
pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) and the ability of those
UniverCyte-modified iPS cells to evade immune responses and to
differentiate into somatic cells. AgeX will have rights to use any
improvements to its UniverCyte technology developed through the
research and may negotiate commercial licensing arrangements
granting its collaborator rights to use UniverCyte to produce
cellular products for therapeutic and commercial purposes.
“Given its near- and long-term clinical and commercial
potential, we are deeply focused on deriving value and generating
revenue from our UniverCyte technology platform,” said Greg Bailey,
MD, Chairman of the Board of Directors of AgeX. “This exciting
collaboration marks a milestone moment for us on many levels,
including our first collaboration utilizing UniverCyte; our first
announcement related to our newly-unveiled business development and
licensing model; and our first foray into Japan. With its
favourable business and regulatory climate for regenerative
medicine, Japan may prove to be a very important market for
us.”
This is AgeX’s first collaboration under its new technology
licensing and collaboration business strategy. AgeX hopes to
announce further collaborations for research and product
development utilizing its technology platforms in the coming
months.
“Our work to engineer our own universal pluripotent stem cell
line is proceeding as planned,” said Dr. Nafees Malik, Chief
Operating Officer of AgeX. “This exciting collaboration nicely
complements our own in-house research. Our aim is to be a world
leader in the engineering of universal cells.”
AgeX’s UniverCyte uses a proprietary, novel, modified form of
HLA-G and is intended to permit donor cells to be transplanted into
patients without donor-patient tissue matching and without
administering immunosuppressant medication. Immunosuppressive drugs
can reduce patient resistance to infectious diseases and cancers as
well as cause organ and other toxicities. Reducing or eliminating
the need for immunosuppressants after cell transplantation by use
of hypoimmunogenic cells may make therapies universally
available.
AgeX and its largest stockholder, Juvenescence, recently
published a joint paper in the peer-reviewed scientific journal
Regenerative Medicine highlighting the UniverCyte technology
platform, “Engineering strategies for generating hypoimmunogenic
cells with high clinical and commercial value,” which has been very
well received by the scientific community, ranking in the top 1% of
more than 14 million research papers tracked by Altmetric.
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 variety 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 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 in the body.
AgeX is developing its core product pipeline for use in the clinic
to extend human healthspan and is seeking opportunities to
establish licensing and collaboration agreements around its broad
IP estate and proprietary technology platforms.
For more information, please visit www.agexinc.com or connect
with the company on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.
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 the “Risk Factors” section of AgeX’s Annual Report
on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commissions (copies of which may be
obtained at www.sec.gov). Further, in the case of AgeX’s new
UniverCyte™ research collaboration, there can be no assurance that:
(i) any improved technology will be invented or any HLA-G modified
somatic cells will be successfully derived in the research program,
(ii) AgeX will be able to license UniverCyte™ technology on
commercially favorable terms, or (iii) any HLA-G modified cells
that may be derived for therapeutic use will be shown to be safe
and effective in clinical trials or will be successfully
commercialized even if clinical trials are successful. 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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Media Contact for AgeX: Bill Douglass Gotham Communications, LLC
bill@gothamcomm.com (646) 504-0890
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