TEL AVIV, Israel, Nov. 23, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cellect biotechnology Ltd. (NASDAQ: APOP ) (TASE: APOP ) (hereinafter the “Company”) announces it has signed an agreement with Hadasit, the Technology Transfer Company of Hadassah Medical Organization (HMO) in Jerusalem.
According to the agreement, Hadassah’s Prof. Amnon Peled, one of the world’s most renowned investigators of stem cells and natural killer cells, will be conducting a series of trials using Cellect’s ApoGraft method to test engraftment potential and its effect on lowering GvHD (transplant rejection disease) in mice models. In addition, Prof. Peled will investigate the ApoGraft potential on inducing Graft versus Tumor which may provide significant improvements in cancer treatments.
Shai Yarkoni, Cellect’s Co-Founder & CEO, stated: “We are constantly advancing in providing vital medical and research data on the effectiveness of Cellect’s technology as the best solution for stem cells-based treatments. We are honored to be working with Prof. Peled and Hadassah for further evidence of what our technology can contribute to the stem cells therapies arena.”
Prof. Amnon Peled stated: “We look forward to collaborating on this project and its results.”
Stem cells are extremely rare and difficult to identify and separate from any mass of mature cells. Stem cell transplants contain a high ratio of mature cells, which often causes severe rejection symptoms, morbidity and even death.
One of the key barriers to any future stem cells-based therapies is the lack of ability to separate stem cells effectively to achieve the critical mass of stem cell quantity and quality necessary for regenerative treatments with minimal rejection risks and at a reasonable cost that will make such treatments available for everyone.
Current therapies using stem cells, such as Bone Marrow transplants, suffer from very high levels of risks (e.g. GvHD), low ratios of success and extremely high costs involving complex and mostly ineffective processes trying to reach a critical mass of stem cells material for treatments.
Cellect has developed a transformative technology that enables any hospital, pharmaceutical company and research center to easily isolate large quantities of stem cells from any cellular mass to be readily available for stem cells-based treatments with negligible risks for rejection disease (GvHD) and at a fraction of the time and costs of today’s processes.
Cellect is conducting a wide range of trials and tests to provide quality data supporting the effectiveness of the technology including clinical studies with patients in collaboration with the Rambam medical center in Haifa and Shearei Tzedek hospital in Jerusalem.
About Hadasit (“Hadasit”) Hadasit, the Technology Transfer Company of Hadassah Medical Organization (HMO) in Jerusalem, Israel, promotes and commercializes HMO's continuously generated intellectual property (IP) and Research & Development (R&D) capabilities. IP generated by HMO has already gained global recognition due to Hadasit's successful enterprising of Hadassah's biomedical technology, including novel therapeutics, diagnostics and medical devices.
About Cellect biotechnology Ltd. (“Cellect”) Cellect Biotechnology is traded on both the NASDAQ and Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (NASDAQ: APOP ) (TASE: APOP ). The Company develops an innovative technology which enables the functional selection of stem cells based on their sensitivity to apoptosis. This functional-based selection is a breakthrough technology in the ability to isolate stem cells from any given tissue, and may improve a variety of stem cell applications.
The Company’s first planned product line is expected to include unique containers for cell selection in an apoptosis-inducing microenvironment. Cellect’s first planned commercial product candidate is a medical kit designed for the cancer treatment bone marrow transplantations market, as well as other markets which require cell selection. The Company plans that in the future its technology will be integrated in many production procedures of stem cell-based products.
Forward Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements about the Company’s expectations, beliefs and intentions. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as “believe”, “expect”, “intend”, “plan”, “may”, “should”, “could”, “might”, “seek”, “target”, “will”, “project”, “forecast”, “continue” or “anticipate” or their negatives or variations of these words or other comparable words or by the fact that these statements do not relate strictly to historical matters. For example, forward-looking statements are used in this press release when we discuss the recruitment of patients for the Phase I/II clinical trial, the ability of the Company’s cell selection process to prevent adverse effects, the potential for the Company’s technology to improve the use of BMT for other indications, the Company’s belief that the successful outcome of the Phase I/II clinical trial will establish proof of concept and validate the usability of its products and the description of its technology and its proposed uses in other applications. These forward-looking statements and their implications are based on the current expectations of the management of the Company only, and are subject to a number of factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements: changes in technology and market requirements; we may encounter delays or obstacles in launching and/or successfully completing our clinical trials; our products may not be approved by regulatory agencies; our technology may not be validated as we progress further and our methods may not be accepted by the scientific community; we may be unable to retain or attract key employees whose knowledge is essential to the development of our products; unforeseen scientific difficulties may develop with our process; our products may wind up being more expensive than we anticipate; results in the laboratory may not translate to equally good results in real clinical settings; results of preclinical studies may not correlate with the results of human clinical trials; our patents may not be sufficient; our products may harm recipients; changes in legislation; and the Company’s inability to timely develop and introduce new technologies, products and applications, which could cause the actual results or performance of the Company to differ materially from those contemplated in such forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement in this press release speaks only as of the date of this press release. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by any applicable securities laws. More detailed information about the risks and uncertainties affecting the Company is contained under the heading “Risk Factors” in Cellect Biotechnology Ltd.'s prospectus dated July 29, 2016 filed with the SEC, which is available on the SEC's website, www.sec.gov .
Contact Cellect Biotechnology Ltd. Shai Yarkoni, Chief Executive Officer www.cellectbio.com + 972-9-974-1444 LifeSci Advisors Bob Yedid, Managing Director 646-597-6989 bob@lifesciadvisors.com
