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Biotech / Medical : Indications -- diabetes -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: nigel bates who wrote (61)	4/4/2003 2:06:01 PM
From: keokalani'nui	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 278

StemCells, Inc. Receives U.S. Patent for Methods of Isolating Precursors to Insulin Producing Cells Friday April 4, 8:01 am ET PALO ALTO, Calif., April 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- StemCells, Inc. (Nasdaq: STEM - News) confirmed today that the U.S. Patent office has granted U.S. Patent Number 6,541,251 with claims covering methods for isolating pancreatic progenitor cells in mammals, including humans. These progenitors are the cells that give rise to insulin producing cells. StemCells has the exclusive license to the patent, which arose out of research conducted at Dr. Nora Sarvetnick's laboratory at the Scripps Research Institute under funding from StemCells Inc. "This patent claims a cell-surface protein marker and methods that can be used to tag the progenitor cells that will generate insulin-producing cells. This unique protein marker provides us with a means to purify these progenitor cells using the same technology platform the company has used for the identification and isolation of its human neural stem cells. The adult pancreas has very limited regenerative capacity, and in insulin deficient diabetes, the insulin-producing cells are destroyed and do not regenerate. The potential significance of this patent is that by isolating a highly enriched population of progenitor cells and transplanting it, we may be able to provide an internal source of insulin that might ameliorate, or even cure, the disease." said Martin McGlynn, President and CEO of StemCells Inc. "The patent claims cover cells identified from a variety of tissue sources, including fetal, neonatal, and adult tissue," McGlynn added. The Company previously announced the June 5th, 2001 issuance of another U.S. Patent invented by Dr. Sarvetnick and her colleagues at Scripps, pertaining to a unique mouse model which it believes will also be useful for identifying stem/progenitor cells for the pancreas and liver.

To: nigel bates who wrote (61)	11/13/2003 9:26:42 AM
From: nigel bates	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 278

Abbott drops Karo Bio programme: Karo Bio Obtains Rights to A-348441 and Selected Compounds from Abbott Laboratories for the Treatment of Diabetes HUDDINGE, Sweden, Nov. 13, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Karo Bio (Stockholm: KARO.ST - news) today announced that the company immediately will obtain rights to technologies, lead compounds and preclinical data from its joint diabetes collaboration with Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT - news) . For strategic reasons Abbott Laboratories has decided to transfer these rights in the joint program to Karo Bio including the novel, first-in-class compound, A- 348441 for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. In 1999, Karo Bio AB and Abbott Laboratories initiated a joint project for the discovery and development of new treatments for type 2 diabetes. The joint drug discovery phase concluded in January 2003 after successfully discovering a new and promising concept for type 2 diabetes based upon the lead compound A-348441. This compound targets the glucocorticoid receptor within the liver, which is known to be an important target for regulating glucose output. In studies involving diabetic and dyslipidemic animals, A-348441 has been shown to normalize blood glucose levels and to lower levels of certain elevated lipids. In addition, A-348441 significantly reduces hepatic glucose output with secondary improvements in insulin sensitivity across multiple animal species. Glucocorticoid receptors are present in a variety of tissues and the A-348441 compound also possesses binding activity to the progesterone receptor. However, A-348441 is pharmacologically selective for the liver, thereby minimizing potential side effects in other parts of the body. One side effect commonly observed with the currently marketed insulin sensitizers is weight gain; however, no weigh gain was observed in animals treated with the A-348441 compound. "We are very excited by A-348441's improved profile compared to several drugs on the market, as well as compounds currently in development. This compound reduces blood glucose effectively but also significantly reduces triglycerides, cholesterol and free fatty acids which all are important risk factors for diabetics. While we enjoyed working with Abbott Laboratories and would have been delighted to see them continue in the program, we respect Abbott's strategic decision. It is our intention to move the program forward as soon as the transfer of the project information and materials has been concluded. We believe a program based on A-348441 has a very high potential in the diabetes market due to its unique pharmacological profile and the medical community's urgent need for compounds with new mechanisms of action," says Bjorn Nilsson, President & CEO of Karo Bio.