RBCC Target Amarantus BioSciences Reports Positive Pre-Clinical Results of Parkinson’s Treatment
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- Category: Proteins and Peptides
- Published on Wednesday, 02 May 2012 13:20
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NOKOMIS, FL, USA I May 2, 2012 I Rainbow BioSciences, LLC, the biotech subsidiary of Rainbow Coral Corp. (OTCBB: RBCC.OB - News), announced today that its current joint venture target, Amarantus BioSciences, Inc., has achieved positive results in a pre-clinical experiment demonstrating the potential of its new Parkinson’s disease therapy currently in development.
Amarantus is the developer of MANF, a first-in-class, disease-modifying therapeutic protein that addresses an underlying form of cell death known as apoptosis. The experiments conducted last year were funded by a grant from the Michael J. Fox Foundation, and the results showed that MANF significantly reduces the behavioral deficits caused by the neurotoxin 6-OHDA in a standard animal model of Parkinson’s disease.
These results are even more significant because they showed that MANF compares favorably with a competing disease-modifying treatment called GDNF; a protein Amgen previously spent over $200M developing now entering Phase 2 clinical trials at Medgenesis Therapeutix. MANF has a mechanism of action that could have an impact on a larger population of Parkinson’s patients than GDNF. Moreover, the amount of money that will be required for MANF’s development will be significantly less than has been spent on GDNF to date. This is primarily because Amarantus has been able to learn from GDNF’s development travails.
Since 2003, 20 papers have been published in peer-reviewed journals describing MANF’s unique mechanism of action and ability to rescue neurons from death in a variety of cellular and animal models of nervous-system diseases. Currently, Amarantus is focused on achieving the required protocols to gain regulatory approval to initiate human clinical studies for MANF in Parkinson’s disease.
Over $30 million has already been invested in the research and development of Amarantus’ product candidates from biopharmaceutical companies, non-profit organizations, academic researchers and government agencies, including the National Institutes of Health.
RBCC announced earlier this week that the company signed a letter of intent to advance Amarantus’ Parkinson’s disease program. RBCC has initiated due diligence toward a potential definitive agreement with the promising biotech innovator.
For more information on Rainbow BioSciences, RBCC’s biotechnology division, please visit www.rainbowbiosciences.com/investors.html.
Rainbow BioSciences will develop new medical and research technology innovations to compete alongside companies such as Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTIC), Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB), Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) and Elan Corp. (NYSE: ELN).
About Rainbow BioSciences
Rainbow BioSciences, LLC, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rainbow Coral Corp. (OTCBB: RBCC). The company continually seeks out new partnerships with biotechnology developers to deliver profitable new medical technologies and innovations. For more information on our growth-oriented business initiatives, please visit our website at [www.RainbowBioSciences.com]. For investment information and performance data on the company, please visit www.RainbowBioSciences.com/investors.html.
SOURCE: Rainbow BioSciences