MicroIslet Announces Supply Agreement With Mayo Foundation
March 15 2005 - 8:01AM
PR Newswire (US)
MicroIslet Announces Supply Agreement With Mayo Foundation SAN
DIEGO and ROCHESTER, Minn., March 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
MicroIslet, Inc. (AMEX:MII) and Mayo Foundation for Medical
Education and Research ("Mayo") today announced that they have
entered into a strategic supply agreement under which Mayo will
supply Designated Pathogen Free ("DPF") Pigs to MicroIslet for use
in development of MicroIslet-P(TM) -- a vialed suspension of
microencapsulated porcine islets for injection into the abdominal
cavity for transplantation in patients with insulin-dependent
diabetes. Under the terms of the agreement, Mayo will supply
MicroIslet substantially all of its non-transgenic pig production
for a period of six to nine months. Mayo has also agreed to grant
MicroIslet exclusivity for supply of pigs in the field of research
and treatment of diabetes during the term of the agreement. The
parties have agreed to work together to negotiate a long term
supply agreement. MicroIslet expects to use the islets from these
pigs for testing of its xenotransplantation technology in animals
with the goal of continuing the Mayo supply relationship to provide
islets (upon FDA approval) for human clinical trials. MicroIslet
believes that Mayo has the capacity to provide an adequate supply
of donor organs for MicroIslet's planned Phase I and Phase II
clinical trials. MicroIslet has not identified any supplier other
than Mayo that is capable of providing the necessary quantity and
quality of DPF animals for its product development program.
MicroIslet believes that the supply of pigs from Mayo will allow
the company to focus on its pre-clinical and clinical programs and
reduce the risk associated with unavailability of qualified donor
animals. Use of DPF source animals is a regulatory requirement for
clinical application of xenotransplantation products. DPF status
requires that the animals are housed in a closed facility and
extensively monitored for known infectious agents. Establishing
such a herd requires a clean room facility, a significant amount of
time, and veterinary expertise. Dr. Haro Hartounian, President and
Chief Operating Officer of MicroIslet commented "We are proud to
announce this agreement with Mayo Foundation and consider this
agreement the start of a mutually beneficial relationship that will
provide a strong complement to our efforts in developing a solution
for treatment of Type 1 diabetes. The experience and expertise of
the Mayo team in this specialized field should prove very valuable
as we advance our product development efforts." About MicroIslet
MicroIslet is a biotechnology company engaged in the research,
development, and commercialization of patented technologies in the
field of transplantation therapy for people with insulin-dependent
diabetes. MicroIslet's patented islet transplantation technology,
exclusively licensed from Duke University, includes methods for
isolating, culturing, cryopreservation, and immuno-protection
(microencapsulation) of islet cells. MicroIslet is working to
develop and commercialize a first product, called MicroIslet-P, a
microencapsulated porcine islet cell suspension that will be used
for transplantation in patients with insulin-dependent diabetes.
Additional information about MicroIslet can be found at
http://www.microislet.com/. Except for the historical information
contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release,
including the expectation of development of new therapeutic
products, and the impact of MicroIslet's products on diabetes
patients, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the
"safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to
risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ
materially, including the risks and uncertainties inherent in
medical treatment discovery, development and commercialization, the
risks and uncertainties associated with MicroIslet's early stage
xenotransplantation technologies, the risks and uncertainties of
governmental approvals and regulation, dependence on the Mayo
Foundation for Medical Education and Research as a sole source
supplier of animal parts for pre-clinical and clinical studies,
MicroIslet's need to raise substantial additional capital to
proceed through human clinical trials and bring any product to
market, the risks that MicroIslet's competitors will develop or
market technologies or products that are more effective or
commercially attractive than MicroIslet's products, and other risks
detailed from time to time in MicroIslet's most recent filings with
the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking
statements speak only as of the date hereof. MicroIslet disclaims
any intent or obligation to update these forward- looking
statements. For more information, please visit our Web site at
http://www.microislet.com/. For further information, contact: Haro
Hartounian, Ph.D., President and Chief Operating Officer,
MicroIslet Inc. +1-858-657-0287, DATASOURCE: MicroIslet, Inc.
CONTACT: Haro Hartounian, Ph.D., President and Chief Operating
Officer of MicroIslet Inc., +1-858-657-0287, Web site:
http://www.microislet.com/
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