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Q Therapeutics Adds New Patent to Portfolio  E-mail

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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