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Q THERAPEUTICS, INC. ADDS NEW PATENT TO ITS PORTFOLIO
Neural stem cells form all CNS cell types.
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Salt Lake
City, Utah – April 14, 2009 – Q Therapeutics. (“Q”)
announced the issuance of United States patent #7,517,521 covering
methods of isolation and transplantation of human Neuroepithelial
precursor cells (“NEP cells”). These human neural stem cells can
be differentiated into any of the major cell types of the central
nervous system (CNS). The patent issue from technology developed by
Mahendra Rao, MD, PhD, while at the University of Utah. Q holds
exclusive rights to this technology under its license with the
University of Utah.
These cells
will be used for research and drug screeningpurposes by Q and its
collaborators and development partners. “Dr. Rao’s body of work
continues to produce very nice intellectual property assets for Q.
We believe these cells can be very valuable research tools both for
development of cellular therapeutics and small molecule drug
discovery programs that target the CNS”’ said Deborah Eppstein,
Ph.D., President and CEO of Q. “While we believe our other glial
cell products are better candidates for our initial disease target of
ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) and Transverse Myelitis, these NEP cells
will be very useful to Q and its partners in learning more about how
the CNS acts and reacts under a variety of conditions. We will be
making these cells available to those researchers who have an
interest in this area.”
About
Q Therapeutics, Inc.:
Q Therapeutics, Inc. is an emerging biopharmaceutical company,
venture-backed and privately held, developing products to treat
debilitating diseases of the central nervous system. The Company has
exclusive rights to 17 patents arising out of work done by Mahendra
Rao, M.D., Ph.D., at the University of Utah and NIH, as well as
rights to pending patents from Steven Goldman, M.D., Ph.D. and the
Cornell Medical Foundation. The company’s first product, Q-Cells®,
is a cell-based therapeutic intended to restore or preserve normal
function of neurons by providing essential support functions that
occur in healthy central nervous system tissues. Q-Cells® may be
applicable to a wide range of demyelinating diseases, including
multiple sclerosis, transverse myelitis, cerebral palsy, and white
matter stroke, as well as other neurodegenerative diseases such as
ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease), traumatic spinal cord injury,
Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s Disease. Initial clinical targets
are transverse myelitis, a rapidly paralyzing, inflammatory
demyelinating spinal cord injury related to MS; and ALS, with a first
IND filing targeted in 2010. Q’s pipeline includes other neural
cell products for treating diseases including peripheral
neuropathies, as well as use of its proprietary cells for new drug
discovery. For more information, visit www.qthera.com
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