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"We are very pleased to have licensed-in these important deliverytechnology rights," said Neuralstem President & CEO, Richard Garr. "As we getready to move into our expected human trial for ALS, we are focused on theoptimal way to deliver our cell therapeutics to enhance the safety andefficacy of the treatments. Transplanting our cells directly into the spinalcord is a challenging but necessary part of trying to treat diseases of thespinal cord, not only in ALS, but in other spinal cord injuries and diseases."Garr went on to say, "The technology licensed today will help us to meet thosegoals."
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Neuralstem will use this technology in its clinical trial for ALS(Amytrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease). The companyanticipates filing its IND (Investigational New Drug) application with the FDAfor the ALS trial in the next few weeks, and hopes to start the trial early in2009.
"Neuralstem is a second generation stem cell company," said Garr, "builtnot so much to do basic research and discovery, as to optimize our discoveryof neural stem cells, and take them into the clinic and into patients. Webelieve that our technology answers many of the issues that have held thefield back, and makes it possible to build a stem cell company with a trueproduct focus."
The three inventions Neuralstem has licensed from Cleveland Clinic are: aStabilized Platform and Microelectrode Recording Guidance Validation; aFloating Cannula for Spinal Cord Therapeutic Injection; and a Spinal Platformand Methods for Delivering a Therapeutic Agent to a Spinal Cord Target. All ofthese are for use in spinal cord surgery for the delivery of therapeutics. Fora video on how the stem cells are anticipated to work once injected into thespinal cord, and other information on Neuralstem's technology go to:http://www.neuralstem.com/index.asp?pgid=14.
About Neuralstem
Neuralstem's patented technology enables, for the first time, the abilityto produce neural stem cells of the human brain and spinal cord in commercialquantities, and the ability to control the differentiation of these cells intomature, physiologically relevant human neurons and glia.
Major Central Nervous System diseases targeted by the Company withresearch programs currently underway include: Ischemic Paraplegia, TraumaticSpinal Cord Injury and ALS. The company's cells have extended the life of ratswith ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) as reported the journal TRANSPLANTATION, incollaboration with Johns Hopkins University researchers, and also reversedparalysis in rats with Ischemic Spastic Paraplegia, as reported inNEUROSCIENCE on June 29, 2007, in collaboration with researchers at Universityof California San Diego. The Company expects to file its first IND(Investigational New Drug) application with the FDA for ALS in the fall.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Information
This news release may contain forward-looking statements made pursuant tothe "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Actof 1995. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements in thispress release regarding potential applications of Neuralstem's technologiesconstitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties,including, without limitation, risks inherent in the development andcommercialization of potential products, uncertainty of clinical trial resultsor regulatory approvals or clearances, need for future capital, dependenceupon collaborators and maintenance of our intellectual property rights. Actualresults may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements. Additional information on potential factors that couldaffect our results and other risks and uncertainties are detailed from time totime in Neuralstem's periodic reports, including the annual report on Form 10-KSB for the year ended December 31, 2007 and the quarterly report on form 10-Qfor the period ended June 30, 2008.
SOURCE Neuralstem Inc.
