by Marketwire
Sernova Corp. (TSX VENTURE:
SVA)(FRANKFURT: PSH), is pleased to
announce a research collaboration with Massachusetts General
Hospital, supported with funding from JDRF to develop a novel
treatment for diabetes.
Sernova and
Dr. Mark Poznansky, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor ofMedicine at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Vaccine and
Immunotherapy Center at Massachusetts General Hospital will
collaborate on the project, with
JDRF providing $150,000 USD in
funding support.
The collaboration will incorporate a proprietary
local immune protectant technology within
Sernova's novel Cell Pouch
as a potential new treatment for patients
with insulin-dependent
diabetes.
"Sernova is pleased to be working with Dr. Poznansky, a world
renowned expert in understanding and modulating molecular processes
of the immune system for therapeutic uses, whose laboratory
discovered the novel protectant technology and we are similarly
pleased to be working with JDRF and to receive shared support for
this work," said Dr. Philip Toleikis, President and CEO of Sernova
Corp.
Islet transplantation represents a potentially durable cure for type
1 diabetes (T1D) by replacing the lost beta islet cells with new,
functional insulin producing cells. Application of islet
transplantation as a treatment for T1D is currently limited by a
number of significant obstacles: a very limited availability of
transplantable islets derived from human cadaveric donors, the immune
destruction of the islets following transplantation and the need for
an implantable, scalable and retrievable device for delivering
therapeutic cells.
Sernova's patented
Cell Pouch uses biocompatible polymers to develop,
highly vascularized subcutaneous tissue chambers for the placement,
survival and long term function of islets and other therapeutic
cells. Over the past six years, Sernova's Cell Pouch has demonstrated
an excellent safety profile and efficacy benefit in small and large
animal models of disease and importantly, in humans with severe
diabetes, islets transplanted into the Cell Pouch have been shown to
become highly vascularized and able to produce their therapeutic
product.
"
Sernova's goal for the treatment of diabetes is to develop a product
consisting of our prevascularized, human scaled Cell Pouch which
creates an ideal environment for locally immune-protected therapeutic
cells from a virtually unlimited source to treat all patients with
insulin-dependent diabetes," added Dr. Toleikis.
"Our collaboration with
Sernova is designed to address the obstacles
of current portal vein islet transplantation by combining a
proprietary local immune protectant for transplanted cells from a
virtually unlimited source, within a biocompatible device that
enhances microvessel formation and thereby oxygen supply to the
graft," said Dr. Poznansky. He continued, "This combination is
designed to unlock the potential of advanced therapeutic cell
treatment that could meet the needs of the growing population of
patients with diabetes."
"We see Sernova's approach to treating diabetes with its
prevascularized implantable Cell Pouch(TM)
using virtually unlimited
cell sources that are locally protected from the immune system as
being directly aligned with the research emphasis of JDRF and look
forward to the results from the collaboration with Dr. Poznansky,"
said Dr. Albert Hwa, JDRF's Director of Discovery Research.
About Sernova
Sernova Corp. is a clinical stage regenerative medicine company
developing medical technologies for the treatment of chronic
debilitating metabolic diseases such as diabetes, blood disorders
including hemophilia and other diseases treated through replacement
of proteins or hormones missing or in short supply within the body.
Sernova is developing the Cell Pouch(TM), an implantable medical
device for therapeutic cells (donor, xenogeneic or stem cell derived
therapeutic cells) which then release proteins and/or hormones as
required.
Forward-Looking Information
This release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements are statements that are not historical facts and are
generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects",
"plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates",
"projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or
conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur.
Although Sernova believes the expectations expressed in such
forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such
statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual
results may differ materially from those in forward looking
statements. Forward-looking statements, which include our beliefs
about the functionality of the Cell Pouch and our expectations of the
potential benefits of the research collaboration, are based on the
beliefs, estimates and opinions of Sernova's management on the date
such statements were made. Sernova expressly disclaims any intention
or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider
(as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange)
accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Contacts:
Sernova Corp.
Philip Toleikis, Ph.D.
President and CEO
(604) 961-2939
philip.toleikis@sernova.com / info@sernova.com
www.sernova.com
Ray Matthews & Associates
Suite 601-128 West Cordova Street
Vancouver, BC V6B 0E6
(604) 818-7778
www.raymatthews.ca
SOURCE: Sernova Corp
