Copyright 2004 Business Wire, Inc.  
Business Wire
March 23, 2004 Tuesday 1:28 PM GMT
DISTRIBUTION: Health/Medical Writers; Business Editors
LENGTH: 1344 words
DATELINE: ST. PAUL, Minn., March 23, 2004

BioE to provide proprietary stem cells from umbilical cord blood, stem cell processing technology and research support to university

BioE(R), Inc., a biotechnology company that develops antibody-based diagnostics and therapeutics, announced today it has entered into a collaborative research agreement with the University of Southern California (USC) to support the development of non-embryonic stem cell therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, including multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injuries, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease) and stroke.

Millions of people worldwide suffer from neurodegenerative diseases and current treatments only aim to halt the progression of these conditions. To aid USC's therapeutic development efforts in restoring or renewing tissue and organs damaged by these diseases, BioE will provide its proprietary stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood; its PrepaCyte(R)-CB stem cell processing system; and research support to the university.

"We are very excited to be working with BioE to develop umbilical cord stem cell therapies for neurodegenerative disease," said Professor Leslie Weiner, M.D., Richard Angus Grant Sr. Chair of Neurology and Leslie P. Weiner Chair in Neurology, Keck School of Medicine of USC. "Umbilical cord blood is a rich source of stem cells that may afford several potentially important advantages over embryonic or fetal stem cells, notably its abundance and genetic diversity, as well as the potential of cord blood stem cells to develop into neuronal cell populations that can replace diseased neurons in central nervous system (CNS) disorders. Through this collaboration, we hope to move closer to using cord blood to pilot a new generation of treatments in regenerative medicine."

BioE's PrepaCyte-CB stem cell processing system is ideally suited for regenerative medicine applications because the process results in increased recovery and higher purity of stem cells that retain their innate cellular functionality compared to traditional cell separation methods.

"Our relationship with USC holds great promise for the development of therapies that may restore tissue and organ function for numerous people suffering from neurodegenerative diseases," said Michael Haider, president and chief executive officer for BioE. "Supplying both the potentially therapeutic stem cells, as well as the unique cell separation technology, in this collaborative initiative further supports our company's dedication to developing powerful and innovative technologies that improve patient outcomes and quality of life. Furthermore, as stem cell research continues to progress, the advantage of using umbilical cord blood stem cells has become increasingly apparent."

Benefits of Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cells

-- Umbilical cord blood is readily available and non-controversial. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, approximately four million births occurred in the United States in 2002. In addition, most stem-cell-rich umbilical cord blood is discarded.

-- Umbilical cord blood is a highly enriched source of hematopoietic and non-hematopoietic stem cells that have exhibited properties previously attributed to embryonic stem cells such as the necessary plasticity (capable of building tissue) to repopulate and restore organ function in a variety of animal models and, more recently, in human clinical settings. These properties are thought to be less evident in stem cells derived from adult sources such as bone marrow.

-- Congress supports medical research involving umbilical cord blood stem cells. In July and October of 2003, the Cord Blood Stem Cell Act of 2003 was introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate respectively. Legislation would provide funds to establish a National Cord Blood Stem Cell Bank Network. The Network would consist of highly qualified cord blood banking centers to prepare, store and distribute human umbilical cord blood stem cells for the treatment of patients and to support peer-reviewed research using such cells. Recently Congress passed an omnibus appropriations bill with $10 million in funds to assist in this undertaking.

About PrepaCyte-CB Stem Cell Processing Technology

PrepaCyte-CB for cord blood is the most advanced product derived from BioE's PrepaCyte cell processing platform. This proprietary technology platform is an antibody-based, closed, liquid reagent system that can be used in multiple cell processing applications to separate and collect therapeutically important cells, including hematopoietic and non-hematopoietic stem cells, and T-cells from a variety of human blood sources. It differs from traditional methods of separating cells from blood sources that often require either the mechanical or chemical manipulation of cells, which can result in the loss of desired cells or undesired alterations in their biological activity. Instead, when mixed with a blood source, such as umbilical cord blood, peripheral blood or bone marrow, PrepaCyte causes unwanted cells to settle to the bottom of the container, leaving desired cells in the upper fraction of the solution. This process allows stem cells or T-cells to be easily removed for further processing prior to therapeutic use in humans, and results in increased quantities and higher purity of cells that retain their innate cellular functionality. Multiple proprietary products are rapidly derived from the platform by adjusting the unique components of the reagent system. PrepaCyte-CB is currently on track to become the first U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-compliant cell separation product of its kind.