ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May. 21, 2012--
BioTime, Inc. (NYSE MKT: BTX) and its subsidiary LifeMap Sciences, Inc.
today announced that they have completed the acquisition of XenneX, Inc.
through a merger of XenneX into LifeMap Sciences. The definitive merger
agreement was previously announced on April 20, 2012.
LifeMap Sciences now holds the exclusive, worldwide licenses to market GeneCards®
and PanDaTox from Yeda Research and Development Company Ltd, the
technology transfer arm of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.
Developed by a leading bioinformatics team at the Weizmann Institute of
Science, GeneCards® is an online database that
provides concise genomic, transcriptomic, genetic, proteomic, functional
and disease-related information on all known and predicted human genes.
With over 12 million page visits per year from hundreds of thousands of
unique users worldwide, GeneCards® is used by
academia, research hospitals, patent offices, and leading biotech and
pharma companies. PanDaTox is a recently developed, searchable
database that can aid in the discovery of new antibiotics and
biotechnologically beneficial products.
LifeMap Sciences’ goal is to be the leading resource for the emerging
field of regenerative medicine, by providing access to GeneCards®,
and its LifeMap™ database of embryonic development and stem
cells, and by also marketing research products manufactured by BioTime,
including ACTCellerateTM cell lines, HyStem®
hydrogels, and cell culture media.
LifeMap scientists will also utilize its databases to aid in the
development of BioTime’s proprietary ACTCellerate™ human
progenitor cell lines into products for the treatment of human diseases,
especially degenerative diseases that might be treatable by cell
replacement therapies.
Since 2003, XenneX has been commercializing GeneCards® worldwide.
Its customers include biotechnology, pharmaceutical and other life
sciences companies, as well as organizations dealing with biotechnology
intellectual property.
Through the merger, XenneX stockholders received 1,362,589 shares of
LifeMap Sciences common stock, which represents approximately 13% of the
LifeMap Sciences common stock now outstanding. XenneX shareholders also
received 448,431 BioTime common shares as part of the transaction.
“The need for the LifeMap database is a reflection of the growth of the
field of regenerative medicine,” said Michael D. West, Ph.D., BioTime’s
Chief Executive Officer. “And the pace of this research is currently
exponential, not linear. As a result, the scientific community today is
very dependent on such relational databases. The LifeMap team is
dedicated to building a quality resource in order to speed stem
cell-based therapies to the clinic.”
David Warshawsky, Ph.D., LifeMap Sciences Chief Executive Officer, who
also founded XenneX, Inc. in 2003, stated “By marketing GeneCards®
and PanDaTox, and the newly licensed MalaCards
human disease database, alongside its LifeMap™ stem cell database
and discovery platform, LifeMap Sciences will be the leading source of
online database research tools for genetic, biological, and stem cell
research and development. We are confident that our products will
enhance research and provide life-saving cures in the future.”
About LifeMap Sciences, Inc.
LifeMap Sciences’ (www.lifemapsc.com)
core technology and business is based on its integrated database suite, The
go-to discovery and marketing platform for biomedical and stem-cell
research. This platform will include GeneCards®:
the leading human gene database; the LifeMap™ database of
embryonic development, stem cell research and regenerative medicine; and MalaCards,
the human disease database. LifeMap Sciences also markets PanDaTox,
a recently developed, searchable database that can aid in the discovery
of new antibiotics and biotechnologically beneficial products.
In addition to database offerings, BioTime plans to make LifeMap
Sciences BioTime’s principal marketing subsidiary for research products,
including ACTCellerate™ human progenitor cell lines, GMP human
embryonic stem (hES) cell lines, hES cell lines carrying inherited
genetic diseases, and ESpan™ growth media for progenitor cell lines for
non-therapeutic uses. LifeMap Sciences will utilize its databases as
part of its online marketing strategy to reach life sciences researchers
at biotech and pharmaceutical companies and at academic institutions and
research hospitals worldwide.
In a therapeutic discovery collaboration with BioTime, LifeMap’s
scientists will utilize LifeMap’s proprietary discovery platform and
stem cell database along with the GeneCards® and
MalaCards integrated database suite, to aid in the development of
BioTime’s proprietary ACTCellerate™ human progenitor cell lines
into products for the treatment of human diseases, especially
degenerative diseases that might be treatable with cell replacement
therapies. The LifeMap™ discovery platform will be used to select
the progenitor cell lines that are most likely to be useful in
developing cell-based regenerative medicine therapies for a wide range
of diseases.
About BioTime, Inc.
BioTime, headquartered in Alameda, California, is a biotechnology
company focused on regenerative medicine and blood plasma volume
expanders. Its broad platform of stem cell technologies is developed
through subsidiaries focused on specific fields of applications. 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. As an injectable product, Renevia™
may address an immediate need in cosmetic and reconstructive surgeries
and other procedures by improving the process of transplanting adipose
derived cells, mesenchymal stem cells, or other adult stem cells.
BioTime's wholly owned subsidiary ES Cell International Pte. Ltd. has
produced clinical-grade human embryonic stem cell lines that were
derived following principles of Good Manufacturing Practice and
currently offers them for use in research. BioTime's therapeutic product
development strategy is pursued through subsidiaries that focus on
specific organ systems and related diseases for which there is a high
unmet medical need. BioTime's majority owned subsidiary Cell Cure
Neurosciences, Ltd. is developing therapeutic products derived from stem
cells for the treatment of retinal and neural degenerative diseases.
Cell Cure's minority shareholder Teva Pharmaceutical Industries has an
option to clinically develop and commercialize Cell Cure's OpRegen™
retinal cell product for use in the treatment of age-related macular
degeneration. BioTime's subsidiary OrthoCyte Corporation is developing
therapeutic applications of stem cells to treat orthopedic diseases and
injuries. Another subsidiary, OncoCyte Corporation, focuses on the
diagnostic and therapeutic applications of stem cell technology in
cancer, including the diagnostic product PanC-DxTM
currently being developed for the detection of cancer in blood samples,
and therapeutic strategies using vascular progenitor cells engineered to
destroy malignant tumors. ReCyte Therapeutics, Inc. is developing
applications of BioTime's proprietary induced pluripotent stem cell
technology to reverse the developmental aging of human cells to treat
cardiovascular and blood cell diseases. BioTime's newest subsidiary,
LifeMap Sciences, Inc., is developing an online database of the complex
cell lineages arising from stem cells to guide basic research and to
market BioTime's research products. In addition to its stem cell
products, BioTime develops blood plasma volume expanders, blood
replacement solutions for hypothermic (low temperature) surgery, and
technology for use in surgery, emergency trauma treatment and other
applications. BioTime's lead product, Hextend®, is a
blood plasma volume expander manufactured and distributed in the U.S. by
Hospira, Inc. and in South Korea by CJ CheilJedang Corp. under exclusive
licensing agreements. Additional information about BioTime, ReCyte
Therapeutics, Cell Cure, OrthoCyte, OncoCyte, BioTime Asia, LifeMap
Sciences, and ESI can be found on the web at www.biotimeinc.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements pertaining to future financial and/or operating results,
future growth in research, technology, clinical development, and
potential opportunities for BioTime and its subsidiaries, along with
other statements about the future expectations, beliefs, goals, plans,
or prospects expressed by management constitute forward-looking
statements. Any statements that are not historical fact (including, but
not limited to statements that contain words such as "will," "believes,"
"plans," "anticipates," "expects," "estimates") should also be
considered to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements
involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, risks
inherent in the development and/or commercialization of potential
products, uncertainty in the results of clinical trials or regulatory
approvals, need and ability to obtain future capital, and maintenance of
intellectual 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
business of BioTime and its subsidiaries, particularly those mentioned
in the cautionary statements found in BioTime's Securities and Exchange
Commission filings. BioTime disclaims any intent or obligation to update
these forward-looking statements.
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Source: BioTime, Inc.
BioTime, Inc.
Peter Garcia, 510-521-3390, ext 367
Chief
Financial Officer
pgarcia@biotimemail.com
or
Judith
Segall, 510-521-3390, ext 301
jsegall@biotimemail.com
or
LifeMap
Sciences, Inc.
Kenneth S. Elsner, 781-826-7719
ke@lifemapsc.com
