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The research was conducted by Dr Michael Young's team at the Schepens Eye Research Institute at Harvard Medical School,Boston, US
GUILFORD, UK | April 23, 2008 | ReNeuron Group plc (LSE:RENE.L) today announces further pre-clinical data regarding its ReN003 stem cell therapy programme for diseases of the retina.
The research was conducted by Dr Michael Young's team at the Schepens Eye Research Institute at Harvard Medical School,Boston, US.
ReNeuron's ReN003 human retinal progenitor cells were tested in a rodent model of damaged retina. Between 14 and 28 days after transplantation into the sub-retinal space, the cells were seen to integrate with the host retinal tissue. A sub-population of these integrated cells differentiated into cells exhibiting the characteristics of photoreceptors, expressing the proteins rhodopsin and recoverin, markers for the light-sensitive rod cells found in healthy retina.
These results therefore indicate the potential utility of ReNeuron's prototype ReN003 cell line as a therapy for blindness-causing diseases characterised by damage to the retina, such as retinitis pigmentosa, age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. The results will be presented by Dr Young at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on 27 April to 1 May, 2008.1
Dr John Sinden, Chief Scientific Officer of ReNeuron, said:
"We are greatly encouraged by these new results generated by Mike Young and his team at Schepens using our prototype ReN003 retinal cell line. There is still much work to do before this cell line can be taken into the clinic, but these early pre-clinical results give us the confidence to move the programme in that direction as quickly as
possible."
Dr Young commented:
"We are very excited about the potential these cells hold for the treatment of retinal degeneration."
1. Programme /poster 3571/D724: SG Schmitt, U Aftab, C Jiang, B Tucker, L Stevanato, E Miljan, J Sinden, H Klassen, M Young
Notes to editors
ReNeuron is a leading, UK-based stem cell therapy business.
It is applying its novel stem cell platform technologies in the development of ground-breaking stem cell therapies to serve significant and unmet or poorly-met clinical needs. The Company operates from laboratories in Surrey, UK and Los Angeles, California, USA.
ReNeuron has used its proprietary, patented cell expansion technology to generate genetically stable neural stem cell lines. This technology platform has multi-national patent protection and is fully regulated by means of a chemically-induced safety switch. Cell growth can therefore be completely arrested prior to in vivo implantation.
ReNeuron has filed for approval to commence initial clinical studies in the US with its lead ReN001 stem cell therapy for chronic stroke disability. In addition to its stroke programme, ReNeuron is developing stem cell therapies for Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, Type 1 diabetes and diseases of the retina. The Company recently acquired the business assets of AmCyte Inc. in the US, bringing clinically-tested cell encapsulation technology to ReNeuron's ReN002 diabetes programme.
ReNeuron has leveraged its stem cell technologies into non-therapeutic areas – its ReNcell® range of cell lines for use in research and in drug discovery applications in the pharmaceutical industry. ReNeuron's ReNcell®CX and ReNcell®VM neural cell lines are marketed worldwide under license by Millipore Corporation.
ReNeuron's shares are traded on the London AIM market under the symbol RENE.L. Further information on ReNeuron and its products can be found at www.reneuron.com.
About the Schepens Eye Research Institute
Schepens Eye Research Institute fights blindness by developing new technologies, therapies and knowledge to preserve and restore vision. Through a continuum of discovery, the Institute works toward a future in which blindness is prevented, alleviated, and, ultimately, cured.
Founded in 1950 by famed retinal surgeon Charles L. Schepens, M.D., Schepens Eye Research Institute is the largest independent eye research institute in the United States and an affiliate of Harvard Medical School. Since its inception, the Institute has trained more than 600 postdoctoral fellows in various disciplines of eye research; trained more than 500 eye surgeons who now practice around the world; and published more than 4,600 scientific papers and books about health and eye disease.
SOURCE: ReNeuron |
