Living Cell Technologies issued fourth US patent
Living Cell Technologies issued fourth US patent for DiabeCell®
March 17, 2008 – Melbourne, Australia
and Auckland, New Zealand - Living Cell Technologies Limited
(ASX:LCT; OTC: LVCLY.PK) today announced that a United
States patent has been issued for the company’s lead
product DiabeCell®, currently in development for Type I
diabetes.
This is the fourth US patent that has been issued to LCT for its lead product DiabeCell®. This patent covers the use of DiabeCell® in the treatment of Type I diabetes, and includes the technique for preparing encapsulated neonatal porcine pancreatic islets.
Dr Paul Tan, CEO of Living Cell Technologies said, "The acceptance of the full patent by the US Patent office is a significant addition to our patent portfolio and will assist in the development of insulin producing cell transplantation."
“Patented processes result from years of painstaking experimentation and validation by LCT. We have seen positive preliminary results in human clinical trials with this technology, and this supports the fact that the commercial implications and value added by this granted patent are noteworthy,” Dr Tan continued.
LCT has several families of patents which have been filed worldwide including those for Neurotrophin Cell (LCT’s product in pre-clinical development for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases) as well as those surrounding methods of encapsulating live cells for human therapeutics.
ENDS
About Living Cell Technologies:
www.lctglobal.com
Living Cell is developing cell-based
products to treat life threatening human diseases. The
Company owns a biocertified pig herd that it uses as a
source of cells for treating diabetes and neurological
disorders. For patients with Type 1 diabetes, the Company
transplants microencapsulated islet cells so that
near-normal blood glucose levels may be achieved without the
need for administration of insulin or at significantly
reduced levels. The company entered clinical trials for its
diabetes product in 2007. For the treatment of
Huntington’s disease and other neurological disorders, the
company transplants microencapsulated choroid plexus cells
that deliver beneficial proteins and neurotrophic factors to
the brain. Living Cell’s technology enables healthy
living cells to be injected into patients to replace or
repair damaged tissue without requiring the use of
immunosuppressive drugs to prevent rejection. Living Cell
also offers medical-grade porcine-derived products for the
repair and replacement of damaged tissues, as well as for
research and other purposes.
LCT Disclaimer
This
document contains certain forward-looking statements,
relating to LCT’s business, which can be identified by
the use of forward-looking terminology such as
“promising,” “plans,” “anticipated,” “will”,
“project”, “believe”, “forecast”,
“expected”, “estimated”, “targeting”,
“aiming”, “set to,” “potential,” “seeking
to,” “goal,” “could provide,” “intends,” “is
being developed,” “could be,” “on track,” or
similar expressions, or by express or implied discussions
regarding potential filings or marketing approvals, or
potential future sales of product candidates. Such
forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual
results to be materially different from any future results,
performance or achievements expressed or implied by such
statements. There can be no assurance that any existing or
future regulatory filings will satisfy the FDA’s and other
health authorities’ requirements regarding any one or more
product candidates nor can there be any assurance that such
product candidates will be approved by any health
authorities for sale in any market or that they will reach
any particular level of sales. In particular, management’s
expectations regarding the approval and commercialization of
the product candidates could be affected by, among other
things, unexpected clinical trial results, including
additional analysis of existing clinical data, and new
clinical data; unexpected regulatory actions or delays, or
government regulation generally; our ability to obtain or
maintain patent or other proprietary intellectual property
protection; competition in general; government, industry,
and general public pricing pressures; and additional factors
that involve significant risks and uncertainties about our
products, product candidates, financial results and business
prospects. Should one or more of these risks or
uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions
prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from
those described herein as anticipated, believed, estimated
or expected. LCT is providing this information as of March
17 , 2008, and does not assume any obligation to update any
forward-looking statements contained in this document as a
result of
new information, future events or developments
or
otherwise.