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news.Q Therapeutics, an emerging biotechnology company developing innovative cell therapy products for the treatment of debilitating diseases of the central nervous system, has announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued the Company the first U.S. patent from its fifth patent family on neural cells.
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U.S. Patent No. 8,673,292, titled "Pure Populations of Astrocyte Restricted Percursor Cells and Methods for Isolation and Use Thereof," covers the astrocyte family of neural cells of the central nervous system (CNS). Canadian Patent No. 2,473,749 in this same patent family has already issued.
The lead inventor on the patent is Mahendra Rao, MD, Ph.D., Q Therapeutics’ scientific founder. Most recently, Dr. Rao served as Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Intramural Center for Regenerative Medicine.
Dr. Rao is Chief Strategy Officer of Q Therapeutics and is responsible for identification and development of new cell products, including new products in the astrocyte lineage that are protected under this new patent.
"U.S. Patent No. 8,673,292 covers the astrocyte family, a critical CNS cell type," stated Dr. Rao.
"Astrocytes constitute the majority of CNS cells and provide essential support functions for neurons, enabling a healthy CNS. They can be likened to the mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) of the CNS, as they provide trophic support and modulate inflammation post-injury. However, astrocytes also offer the potential for long-lasting treatment. Unlike MSCs, astrocytes are long-lived and can treat both CNS injuries as well as neurodegenerative diseases. Defective astrocytes are characteristic in many diseases, including Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease), and Parkinson’s, Huntington’s and Alzheimer’s diseases.
These diseased astrocytes can be replaced by healthy astrocytes whose manufacture and composition are covered by Q’s patent portfolio. In addition, Q’s astrocytes can be engineered using non-viral vectors to enhance their trophic support capabilities or correct genetic deficits, further expanding the uses for these versatile cells. Q is evaluating these cells as vehicles for long-lasting gene therapy for the CNS."
Further commenting, Deborah Eppstein, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Q Therapeutics, added, "We are very pleased with this first U.S. patent issuance in the astrocyte cell family, an extremely important CNS cell type. This patent expands our IP portfolio and covers both composition of matter and use of astrocyte cells for treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. This gives Q a dominant position on these cells for therapeutic applications, as well as for the use in drug discovery.
We are delighted that Dr. Rao will be spearheading our development programs, encompassing the manufacturing of these patented cells from pluripotent cells, such as induced pluripotent stem cells, and the engineering of these cells for gene delivery. In addition, we will seek licensees for drug-screening applications."