Biotime, headquartered in Alameda CA, signed an exclusive sublicense and supply agreement with Jade Therapies, a privately held company in Park City, UT, to provide Jade with clinical-grade HyStem® hydrogels and certain patented technology for use in developing new pharmaceutical products for ophthalmologic use.
BioTime’s HyStem® hydrogels are currently being used by researchers at a number of leading medical schools in studies of stem cell therapies for facilitating wound healing and for the treatment of ischemic stroke, brain cancer, vocal fold scarring, and cardiac infarct. Jade plans to utilize the hydrogels to help heal lesions on the ocular surface by facilitating time-release topical delivery of recombinant human growth hormone. Jade Therapeutics will retain rights to market their product upon completion of development and obtaining marketing approval.
Biotime is a biotechnology company that develops and markets products focusing on regenerative medicine and blood plasma volume expanders. The product included in this agreement, HyStem® hydrogels, are proprietary biocompatible hydrogels that mimic the human extracellular matrix (ECM), a web of molecules surrounding cells that is essential to cellular function.
Biotime’s Chief Commercialiation Officer, William P. Tew, Ph.D., said that Biotime expects near-term approval to market one HyStem®-related product, ReneviaTM, in the EU for reconstructive and cosmetic surgery. He also stated, “We believe our HyStem® technology may also be useful as a device for the slow, timed release of therapeutic agents such as those being developed by Jade Therapeutics, as well as for the controlled release of proteins secreted from BioTime’s stem cell lines.”
Jade Therapeutics’ initial product is designed to deliver recombinant human growth hormone, a well characterized biologic that has already been demonstrated to have significant healing properties. They focuse on the development of locally administered, sustained-release therapeutics that improve corneal healing following damage from disease or injury, improving visual function and quality of life.
“The HyStem® product line has potential utility in a wide array of human therapeutic products,” said Michael West, Ph.D., BioTime’s CEO. “We intend to seek additional industry partners for applications that are not core to our own therapeutic product development.”
BioTime develops and markets research products in the field of stem cells and regenerative medicine, including a wide array of proprietary ACTCellerate cell lines, HyStem® hydrogels, culture media, and differentiation kits. BioTime is developing Renevia (formerly known as HyStem®-Rx), a biocompatible, implantable hyaluronan and collagen-based matrix for cell delivery in human clinical applications. Product development is pursued through a variety of subsidiaries, including Cell Cure Neurosciences, Ltd, OrthoCyte Corporation, OncoCyte Corporation, ReCyte Therapeutics, Inc., and LifeMap Sciences, Inc.
For more information please visit www.biotimeinc.com
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