Ceregene Exclusively Licenses Neurturin Gene From Washington University
Wednesday December 4, 7:01 am ET
License Covers Gene Therapies for Parkinson's Disease And Other Neurological Disorders
SAN DIEGO, Dec. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Ceregene, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on gene therapies for neurological disorders, has signed a licensing agreement with Washington University in St. Louis, MO for exclusive worldwide rights to the gene expressing Neurturin, a nervous system growth factor, for use in neurological gene therapies. The Neurturin protein and gene, discovered by Drs. Eugene M. Johnson, Jr., Jeffrey D. Milbrandt and colleagues at Washington University School of Medicine, is a member of a family of proteins that can protect dopamine-producing neurons in animal models of Parkinson's disease. Dopamine is the key neurotransmitter missing in patients with Parkinson's disease.
"Ceregene is pleased to add the Neurturin gene to its promising list of gene therapy approaches that the company is developing for Parkinson's disease and other neurological disorders," stated Jeffrey M. Ostrove, Ph.D., president and chief operating officer of Ceregene. "A number of companies and institutions expressed interest in licensing this gene given the promising results it has demonstrated to date, and we are very pleased that Washington University chose Ceregene as the licensee."
"To date, studies involving the Neurturin gene have generated very promising data," said Dr. Johnson, professor of neurology, co-director of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center and a member of Ceregene's scientific advisory board. "I look forward to the continued research Ceregene will be conducting that will evaluate the Neurturin gene for the treatment of Parkinson's disease and other neurological disorders."
Neurotrophic factors, which have multiple responsibilities including maintaining adult neurons, have been widely studied for their potential to treat a range of diseases. Ceregene is currently developing technologies for the delivery of genes encoding neurotrophic factors to the specific regions in the brain where they will offer the greatest therapeutic benefit. The company has exclusive rights to technology that is being used in an ongoing Phase I clinical study at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), delivering nerve growth factor (NGF) to Alzheimer's disease patients using gene therapy techniques.
Dr. Jeffrey Kordower, Professor of Neurosciences at Rush-Presbyterian Medical Center and a Ceregene founder, published data from a preclinical study in the October 2000 issue of the journal, Science, demonstrating the benefits of neurologic growth factor gene therapy in two non-human primate models of Parkinson's disease. In both of these models, dramatic behavioral and neuroanatomical results were seen without any observable side effects or toxicity. The therapy prevented the loss of dopamine-producing cells in adult MPTP-lesioned monkeys, reversed the spontaneous degeneration of these nerve cells in aged monkeys, and nearly completely restored their behavioral motor deficits. Ceregene will develop Neurturin gene therapy using some of the technology and methods developed by Dr. Kordower.
Ceregene, Inc. is a San Diego-based biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of gene therapies for neurological disorders including Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Ceregene was launched in January 2001 and is a majority-owned subsidiary of Cell Genesys, Inc. (Nasdaq: CEGE - News), which is headquartered in Foster City, CA.
Statements made herein about Ceregene and Cell Genesys, other than statements of historical fact, including statements about product pipelines, license agreements and clinical and preclinical programs including those dealing with licensed neurotrophic factor genes are forward-looking statements and are subject to a number of uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made including risks associated with the success of research and development programs, clinical trials, the regulatory approval process for clinical trials, competitive technologies and products, patents, continuation of licensing agreements and the need for additional financings. For information about these and other risks which may affect Ceregene and Cell Genesys, please see the Cell Genesys Annual Report on Form 10-K dated April 1, 2002 as well as Cell Genesys' reports on Form 10-Q and 8-K and other reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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Source: Ceregene, Inc. |
