CARLSBAD,
California - May 10,2012 - International Stem Cell Corporation (OTCBB: ISCO) www.intemationalstemcell.com today announced that the
Company has developed new technologies to commercialize the use of human
parthenogenetic stem cells (hpSC) to treat human diseases. The methods
announced today are capable of producing populations of stem cells and their
therapeutically valuable derivatives not only to a higher level of purity but
also at a cost that is approximately several times lower than previously
reported techniques.
ISCO's research
team has developed a new method to derive high-purity populations of neural
stem cells (NSC) from hpSC and further differentiate them into dopaminergic
neurons. This method is capable of generating sufficient quantities of neuronal
cells for ISCO's pre-clinical and clinical studies and is highly efficient as
it requires substantially less time and labor in addition to using fewer costly
materials than traditional methods. ISCO's technologies make possible the
creation of billions of neuronal cells necessary for conducting such studies
from a small batch of stem cells.
ISCO also announced
today that it has developed a new high-throughput cell culture method for
growing human parthenogenetic stem cells (hpSC) in large quantities. This new
technique is easily scalable and can produce the quantities of cGMP grade hpSC
necessary for commercial and therapeutic applications.
"One of the
most challenging issues in commercializing stem cell based treatments is
creating high- purity populations of stem cell derivatives at a reasonable cost
I believe the new methods we have developed solve this important problem and
help position us for future clinical studies", says Dr. Ruslan Semechkin,
Vice President, R&D
About International
Stem Cell Corporation
International
Stem Cell Corporation is focused on the therapeutic applications of human
parthenogenetic stem cells (hpSCs) and the development and commercialization of
cell-based research and cosmetic products. ISCO's core technology,
parthenogenesis, results in the creation of pluripotent human stem cells from
unfertilized oocytes (eggs). hpSCs avoid ethical issues associated with the use
or destruction of viable human embryos. ISCO scientists have created the first
parthenogenic, homozygous stem cell line that can be a source of therapeutic
cells for hundreds of millions of individuals of differing genders, ages and
racial background with minimal immune rejection after transplantation. hpSCs
offer the potential to create the first true stem cell bank, UniStemCell™. ISCO
also produces and markets specialized cells and growth media for therapeutic
research worldwide through its subsidiary Lifeline Cell Technology, and stem
cell-based skin care products through its subsidiary Lifeline Skin Care (www.lifelineskincare.com).
More information is available at www.internationalstemcell.com or follow us on Twitter
@intistemcell.
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Forward-looking
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pertaining to anticipated developments, the potential benefits of research
programs and new manufacturing technologies, and other opportunities for the
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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 company's business,
particularly those mentioned in the cautionary statements found in the
company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings. The company disclaims any
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