VistaGen Therapeutics Receives Notice of Allowance of U.S. Patent for Treatment of Osteoarthritis and Joint Injuries with Ste...
May 23 2018 - 08:30AM
VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VTGN), a clinical-stage
biopharmaceutical company developing new generation medicines for
depression and other central nervous system (CNS) disorders, and
its wholly-owned stem cell technology-focused subsidiary, VistaStem
Therapeutics, Inc., today announced that the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO) has provided VistaGen with a Notice of
Allowance for U.S. Patent Application No. 14/782,070 related to
methods of producing pluripotent stem cell-derived chondrocytes,
chondrocyte lineage cells, cartilage-like tissue and cartilage.
Additionally, the USPTO allowed claims to the therapeutic
administration of these cells and tissues to treat osteoarthritis
and joint injuries affecting cartilage.
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common chronic condition of the
joints, generally caused by aging, injury, overuse or obesity. OA
affects approximately 27 million adults in the U.S. alone.
Chondrocyte and cartilage replacement represent potential new
therapies for treatment of OA and a broad range of degenerative and
debilitating diseases that could dramatically reduce the need for
mechanical devices.
“OA and joint injury are major markets with high unmet need,”
stated Shawn Singh, Chief Executive Officer of VistaGen. “This
Notice of Allowance marks yet another forthcoming U.S. patent grant
by the USPTO protecting our stem cell technology. This expected new
U.S. patent relating to potential treatment of OA and joint injury
and the U.S. patent we received last December relating to blood
cells, platelets and bone marrow stem cells with potential to treat
autoimmune disorders and cancer, enhance our ability, alone or with
strategic partners, to develop and commercialize next generation
health care products to address a wide variety of medical needs
beyond the stem cell technology for treatment of heart disease that
we licensed to BlueRock Therapeutics in December 2016.”
Dr. Gordon Keller, Director of the McEwen Centre for
Regenerative Medicine, one of the world's leading centers for stem
cell and regenerative medicine research and part of the University
Health Network (UHN) in Toronto, discovered the stem cell
technology covered by this new U.S. patent. VistaGen holds an
exclusive license to this patent from UHN.
About Osteoarthritis1
Sometimes called degenerative joint disease or degenerative
arthritis, osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common chronic condition
of the joints, affecting approximately 27 million people in the
U.S. alone. OA can affect any joint, but it occurs most often in
knees, hips, lower back and neck, small joints of the fingers and
the bases of the thumb and big toe. In normal joints, a firm,
slippery material called cartilage covers the end of each bone.
Cartilage provides a smooth, gliding surface for joint motion and
acts as a frictionless surface between the bones. In patients
suffering from OA, the cartilage breaks down and becomes rough,
resulting in bone-on-bone friction causing pain, swelling and
problems moving the joint. In the final stages of OA, the cartilage
wears away and bone rubs against bone leading to joint damage,
deformation, and increased levels of pain.
About VistaGen
VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VTGN) is a clinical-stage
biopharmaceutical company developing new generation medicines for
depression and other CNS diseases and disorders with high unmet
need. VistaGen's lead CNS product candidate, AV-101, is an oral
N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor glycine B (NMDAR GlyB) antagonist in
Phase 2 clinical development in the United States, initially as a
new adjunctive treatment of Major Depressive Disorder in patients
with an inadequate response to standard FDA-approved
antidepressants.
About VistaStem
VistaStem Therapeutics is VistaGen's wholly-owned subsidiary
focused on applying human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) technology
to develop and commercialize proprietary new chemical entities
(NCEs) for VistaGen’s CNS pipeline and out-licensing, as well as
cellular and regenerative therapies for a range of diseases and
disorders involving blood and bone marrow cells, chondrocytes and
cartilage, and heart and liver cells, including autoimmune
disorders, cancer, heart and liver disease, osteoarthritis and
joint injury.
1Arthritis Foundation website, 2017; Available at:
https://www.arthritis.org/about-arthritis/types/osteoarthritis/what-is-osteoarthritis.php
For more information, please
visit www.vistagen.com and connect with VistaGen
on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains various statements concerning VistaGen's
future expectations, plans and prospects, including without
limitation, our expectations regarding potential future strategic
collaborations involving our stem cell technology and our
intellectual property and commercial protection of our product
candidates. These statements constitute forward-looking statements
for the purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking
statements are neither promises nor guarantees of future
performance and are subject to a variety of risks and
uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control and may cause
actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in
these forward-looking statements. Among these risks is the
possibility that (i) we may encounter unexpected adverse events
that cause us to discontinue further development of our stem cell
technology for therapeutic applications, including osteoarthritis
and/or joint injuries, (ii) we may not have access to or be able to
secure substantial additional capital to support our operations,
including further research and development of VistaStem’s stem cell
technology for cellular therapy or regenerative medicine
applications described in this release; and (iii) we, or a
potential future collaborator, may encounter technical and other
unexpected hurdles in the production of chondrocytes, chondrocyte
lineage cells, cartilage and cartilage like tissue for research and
development and/or cellular therapy or regenerative medicine
applications. Certain other risks are more fully discussed in the
section entitled "Risk Factors" in our most recent annual report on
Form 10-K, and subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, as well
as discussions of potential risks, uncertainties, and other
important factors in our other filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC). Our SEC filings are available on the
SEC's website at www.sec.gov. In addition, any forward-looking
statements represent our views only as of the issuance of this
release and should not be relied upon as representing our views as
of any subsequent date. We explicitly disclaim any obligation to
update any forward-looking statements.
Company Contact
Mark A. McPartlandVistaGen Therapeutics Inc.Phone: +1 (650)
577-3600Email: IR@vistagen.com
Investor Contact
Valter Pinto / Allison SossKCSA Strategic CommunicationsPhone:
+1 (212) 896-1254/+1 (212) 896-1267Email: VistaGen@KCSA.com
Media Contact
Caitlin Kasunich / Lisa LipsonKCSA Strategic
CommunicationsPhone: +1 (212) 896-1241/+1 (508) 843-6428Email:
VistaGen@KCSA.com
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