ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 4, 2013--
BioTime, Inc. (NYSE MKT: BTX) and subsidiary, LifeMap Sciences,
announced that BioTime’s CEO, Dr. Michael West will lead a session
titled “From Mapping the Genome to Mapping the Embryome: The Urgent Need
for an International Initiative” today at the 2013
World Stem Cell Summit in San Diego, California. The session will
include world leaders in stem cell biology discussing how major advances
in stem cell science and human health could be achieved by databasing
the cellular components of the human body. In addition to Dr. West, Dr.
Ronit Shtrichman, Technical Vice President of BioTime’s Israeli
subsidiary LifeMap Sciences Ltd., will give a presentation titled “LifeMap
Discovery™: An online database, integrating molecular and cellular
information on embryonic development to improve stem cell research.” LifeMap
Discovery™ is a novel platform that links embryology, molecular and
stem cell research in one location and is currently available to
scientists worldwide at http://discovery.lifemapsc.com.
Dr. West’s slide presentation will be made available on BioTime’s
website at www.biotimeinc.com.
According to Dr. West, “The opportunity presented by pluripotents stem
cells to manufacture for the first time in the history of medicine all
of the cellular components of the human body on an industrial scale is
at once both opportunity and challenge. The opportunity is to build a
new and emerging field we call 'regenerative medicine' in which many
currently incurable diseases are treated with cells capable of
regenerating tissues afflicted with disease. The challenge relates to
the complexity of the cell types in the body and our ability to
manufacture products with precisely-defined compositions for human
clinical use. BioTime’s PureStem™ technology which
facilitates the industrial scale up of defined cell types as well as the
growing international initiative to map all of the cellular building
blocks of human life together may speed the applications of these
discoveries into life-saving therapies.”
“Having access to information at a genetic level of the transient
embryonic progenitor cells that exist in a developing embryo holds great
promise to solving many perplexing problems that exist in stem cell
biology. Many of these progenitor cells are unique and undescribed in
current scientific literature. Our work with PureStem™ embryonic
progenitors has shown them to be potentially superior to pluripotent and
adult stem cells for use in treating chronic degenerative diseases.
Consolidated and annotated data describing the characteristics of these
progenitor cells in the mammalian embryo, such as the mouse, at the
cellular and gene expression level, would be a valuable resource to all
stem cell scientists,” says Jeffrey Janus, CEO of BioTime’s ESI BIO
subsidiary.
About LifeMap Sciences, Inc.
LifeMap Sciences’ (www.lifemapsc.com)
core technology and business is based on its Integrated Biomedical
Knowledgebase and discovery platform for biomedical research, which
currently includes GeneCards®:
the leading human gene database; LifeMap
Discovery™, the database of embryonic development, stem cell
research and regenerative medicine; and MalaCards,
the human disease database. LifeMap’s products are used in many
institutions including academia, research hospitals, patent offices, and
leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. LifeMap is also
engaged in therapeutics discovery, utilizing LifeMap’s proprietary
platform to aid in the development of products for the treatment of
degenerative diseases, including utilizing BioTime’s proprietary, PureStem™
human progenitor cell lines. In addition to its currently marketed
products, LifeMap is pursuing several new internet and informatics
products with substantial rapid revenue growth potential, leveraging its
existing products and their large user base.
About BioTime, Inc.
BioTime is a biotechnology company engaged in research and product
development in the field of regenerative medicine. Regenerative medicine
refers to therapies based on stem cell technology that are designed to
rebuild cell and tissue function lost due to degenerative disease or
injury. BioTime’s focus is on pluripotent stem cell technology based on
human embryonic stem (“hES”) cells and induced pluripotent stem (“iPS”)
cells. hES and iPS cells provide a means of manufacturing every cell
type in the human body and therefore show considerable promise for the
development of a number of new therapeutic products. BioTime’s
therapeutic and research products include a wide array of proprietary PureStem™
progenitors, HyStem® hydrogels, culture media, and
differentiation kits. BioTime is developing Renevia™ (a HyStem®
product) as a biocompatible, implantable hyaluronan and collagen-based
matrix for cell delivery in human clinical applications. In addition,
BioTime has developed Hextend®, a blood
plasma volume expander for use in surgery, emergency trauma treatment
and other applications. Hextend® is manufactured and
distributed in the U.S. by Hospira, Inc. and in South Korea by CJ
CheilJedang Corporation under exclusive licensing agreements.
BioTime is also developing stem cell and other products for research,
therapeutic, and diagnostic use through its subsidiaries:
-
OncoCyte Corporation is developing products and technologies to
diagnose and treat cancer.
-
ES Cell International Pte Ltd., a Singapore private limited company,
develops hES products for research use.
-
OrthoCyte Corporation is developing therapies to treat orthopedic
disorders, diseases and injuries.
-
ReCyte Therapeutics, Inc. is developing therapies to treat a variety
of blood and lymphatic vascular disorders, as well as products for
research using iPS and other cell reprogramming technology.
-
Cell Cure Neurosciences Ltd. is an Israel-based biotechnology company
focused on developing stem cell-based therapies for retinal and
neurological degenerative diseases. Its lead product is OpRegen®
for the treatment of macular degeneration.
-
LifeMap Sciences, Inc. markets, sells and distributes GeneCards®,
the leading human gene database, as part of an integrated database
suite that also includes the LifeMap Discovery™ database of
embryonic development, stem cell research and regenerative medicine,
and MalaCards, the human disease database.
-
Asterias Biotherapeutics, Inc. is a newly formed subsidiary whose
first acquisition was the stem cell assets of Geron Corporation,
including patents and other intellectual property, biological
materials, reagents and equipment for the development of new
therapeutic products for regenerative medicine.
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following link to join our email alert list: http://news.biotimeinc.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements pertaining to future financial and/or operating results,
future growth in research, technology, clinical development, and
potential opportunities for BioTime and its subsidiaries, along with
other statements about the future expectations, beliefs, goals, plans,
or prospects expressed by management constitute forward-looking
statements. Any statements that are not historical fact (including, but
not limited to statements that contain words such as “will,” “believes,”
“plans,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “estimates”) should also be
considered to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements
involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, risks
inherent in the development and/or commercialization of potential
products, uncertainty in the results of clinical trials or regulatory
approvals, need and ability to obtain future capital, and maintenance of
intellectual property rights. Actual results may differ materially from
the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements and as such
should be evaluated together with the many uncertainties that affect the
business of BioTime and its subsidiaries, particularly those mentioned
in the cautionary statements found in BioTime's Securities and Exchange
Commission filings. BioTime disclaims any intent or obligation to update
these forward-looking statements.
Source: BioTime, Inc.
BioTime, Inc.
Lesley Stolz, 510-521-3390 ext. 367
Executive
Vice President Corporate Development
lstolz@biotimemail.com
or
Judith
Segall, 510-521-3390 ext. 301
jsegall@biotimemail.com
or
LifeMap
Sciences, Inc.
Kenneth Elsner, 781-826-7719
COO
ke@lifemapsc.com
