LCT completes patient implants in Parkinson’s trial

LCT completes patient implants in Parkinson’s trial

Sydney & Auckland, 15 December 2014 - Living Cell Technologies Limited today announced that the final patient has been successfully implanted in its Phase I/IIa clinical trial of regenerative cell therapy NTCELL® for Parkinson’s disease. The operation took place at Auckland City Hospital last week.

The Phase I/IIa clinical trial, led by Dr Barry Snow, is an open-label investigation of the safety and clinical effects of NTCELL in patients who no longer respond to current therapy. Dr Snow MBChB, FRACP, FRCPC, leads the Auckland Movement Disorders Clinic at the Auckland District Health Board and is an internationally recognised clinician and researcher in Parkinson’s disease.

LCT anticipates presenting the results of the 26-week trial at the 19th International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders in San Diego in June 2015.

Dr Ken Taylor, chief executive, notes that the success of the implant procedure means that LCT’s clinical programme remains on track.

“The treatment phase of the trial has been completed on schedule. We believe NTCELL has the potential to be the first disease-modifying treatment for patients who are failing the current conventional treatment for Parkinson’s disease,” said Dr Taylor.

About Living Cell Technologies
Living Cell Technologies (LCT) is an Australasian biotechnology company researching and developing cell therapies to treat diseases with high unmet clinical need. LCT’s lead product NTCELL® is an alginate coated capsule containing clusters of neonatal porcine choroid plexus cells. After transplantation NTCELL functions as a biological factory producing factors to promote new central nervous system growth and repair disease induced nerve degeneration.

NTCELL is in Phase I/IIa clinical trial in New Zealand for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. It has the potential to be used in a number of other central nervous system indications such as Huntington’s, Alzheimer’s and motor neurone diseases.

LCT’s proprietary encapsulation technology, IMMUPEL™, allows cell therapies to be used without the need for co-treatment with drugs that suppress the immune system.

LCT holds a 50% interest in Diatranz Otsuka Limited which is developing a cell therapy for type 1 diabetes.

LCT is listed on the Australian (ASX: LCT) and US (OTCQX: LVCLY) stock exchanges. The company is incorporated in Australia, with its operations based in New Zealand.

For more information visit www.lctglobal.com

ENDS

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