ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
BioTime, Inc. (NYSE American: BTX), a late-stage, clinical biotechnology company developing and commercializing products addressing degenerative diseases, today announced that two abstracts have been accepted and will be presented at the upcoming Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) meeting taking place from April 29th – May 3rd, 2018, in Honolulu, Hawaii.
"BioTime is looking forward to presenting at ARVO, the largest and most respected eye and vision research organization in the world," said Adi Mohanty, Co-Chief Executive Officer at BioTime. "This marks the 3rd consecutive year that we have been accepted to present at ARVO. Each year we have been able to share positive data from OpRegen®, our RPE transplant product, as it has progressed from preclinical studies through successive clinical cohorts."
The scheduled times (noted in local Hawaii time) and location of the two BioTime data presentations at the Hawaii Convention Center are as follows:
OpRegen® Poster Presentation
- Title: Phase I/IIa Clinical Trial of Human Embryonic Stem Cell (hESC)-Derived Retinal Pigmented Epithelium (RPE, OpRegen®) Transplantation in Advanced Dry Form Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD): Interim Results
- Presentation Number – Posterboard Number: 77-A0124
- Session Title: AMD and Retinal Therapies Excluding Anti-VEGF
- Date/Time: April 29, 2018 from 8:15am – 10:00am
Vision Restoration Paper Presentation
- Title: Transplantation of laboratory-grown human retinal tissue in the subretinal space of the cat eye
- Presentation Number: 2986
- Session Title: Retinal Gene Therapy and Stem Cell Transplantation
- Date/Time: May 1, 2018 from 12:15pm – 12:30pm
As a reminder, BioTime's Vision Restoration program is based on the ability to generate 3-dimensional human retinal tissue derived from human pluripotent cells. The Company's 3-dimensional retinal tissue technology may address the unmet need of implementing a retinal restoration strategy to address severe retinal degenerative diseases. In 2017, the Small Business Innovation Research program of the National Institutes of Health awarded BioTime a grant of up to $1.56 million to further develop this innovative, next generation vision restoration program.
About OpRegen®
OpRegen®, which is being studied for the treatment of the dry form of AMD, consists of a suspension of Retinal Pigment Epithelial (RPE) cells that are delivered subretinally during a simple intraocular injection. RPE cells are essential components of the back lining of the retina, and function to help nourish the retina including photoreceptors. A proprietary process that drives the differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells is used to generate high purity OpRegen® RPE cells. OpRegen® RPE cells are also "xeno-free," meaning that no animal products are used at any point in the derivation and production process. The avoidance of the use of animal products eliminates some potential safety concerns. Preclinical studies in rats have shown that following a single subretinal injection of OpRegen®, the cells can rapidly organize into its natural monolayer structure in the subretinal space and survive throughout the lifetime of the animal. OpRegen® is designed to be an "off-the-shelf" allogeneic (non-patient specific) product. Unlike treatments that require multiple, frequent injections into the eye, it is expected that OpRegen® would be administered in a single procedure. OpRegen® was granted Fast Track designation from the FDA, which allows more frequent interactions with the agency, and eligibility for accelerated approval and priority review. OpRegen® is a registered trademark of Cell Cure Neurosciences Ltd., a majority-owned subsidiary of BioTime, Inc.
About BioTime, Inc.
BioTime is a late stage clinical biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing products addressing degenerative diseases. The Company's current clinical programs are targeting three primary sectors, aesthetics, ophthalmology and cell and drug delivery. Its clinical programs are based on two platform technologies: pluripotent cells, which can become any type of cell in the human body, and cell/drug delivery. Renevia®, a cell delivery product, met its primary endpoint in an EU pivotal clinical trial for the treatment of facial lipoatrophy in HIV patients in 2017. Submission for approval of Renevia® in the EU is expected to be early 2018, with possible approval in 2018. There were no device related serious adverse events reported to date. OpRegen®, a retinal pigment epithelium transplant therapy, is in a Phase I/IIa multicenter trial for the treatment of dry age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in developing countries. There were no related serious adverse events reported to date. BioTime also has significant equity holdings in two publicly traded companies, Asterias Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NYSE American: AST) and OncoCyte Corporation (NYSE American: OCX), and a private company, AgeX Therapeutics, Inc.
BioTime common stock is traded on the NYSE American and TASE under the symbol BTX. For more information, please visit www.biotime.com or connect with the company on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, and Google+.
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