Todos and Amarantus JV Announces Full Enrollment for Clinical Trial of LymPro Alzheimer's Blood Test Relationship with Amyloid PET
Topline results expected before the end of Q1/2020
REHOVOT, Israel and NEW YORK, Nov. 14, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Todos Medical Ltd. (OTCQB: TOMDF), a clinical-stage in-vitro diagnostics company focused on the development of blood tests for the early detection of cancer and neurodegenerative disorders, and Amarantus Bioscience Holdings, Inc. a US-based JLABS-alumnus biotechnology holding company developing proprietary orphan neurologic, regenerative medicine and ophthalmic therapies and diagnostics through its subsidiaries, today announced that their joint venture company, Breakthrough Diagnostics, Inc. has completed enrollment of its ongoing clinical trial evaluating the relationship of Alzheimer’s blood diagnostic Lymphocyte Proliferation Test (LymPro Test™) with amyloid PET neuroimaging at Leipzig University in Germany (the ‘LymPro PET 2’). Topline results are expected before the end of the first quarter of 2020.
Breakthrough completed a 20-subject clinical study (LymPro PET 1) in 2018 evaluating the correlation between LymPro scores and the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, as confirmed with amyloid PET neuroimaging and other Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers. LymPro measures cell cycle dysregulation in peripheral lymphocytes. The top-line data, announced in July 2019, revealed a strong and statistically significant correlation between LymPro scores and amyloid PET neuroimaging cSUVR scores (r = -0.849; p = 0.00000216). Breakthrough’s academic collaborators at the Leipzig University then expanded enrollment of that study to include an additional cohort of 20 subjects (LymPro PET 2) to confirm the strong relationship seen from LymPro PET 1. The data from both LymPro 1 and LymPro 2 will be published together in a peer-reviewed journal in 2020.
“LymPro is a unique immune system-based Alzheimer’s blood test,” said Dr. Herman Weiss, President & CEO of Todos. “LymPro could prove to be a major breakthrough for Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis by measuring cell cycle dysregulation and amyloid, together, conveniently as part of a blood workup in routine clinical practice. The therapeutic field in Alzheimer’s has begun to see some renewed hope based upon recent Aducanumab data announced by Biogen that is directly related to the amyloid hypothesis, as well as conditional approval by the National Medical Products Administration in China for the first new Alzheimer’s drug in over 20 years, called Oligomannate from Shanghai Green Valley Pharmaceuticals, that is based on gut-brain biology of the microbiome and its effects on the immune system. We believe this renewed optimism and broadening of pathophysiological hypotheses relevant to Alzheimer’s disease being evaluated in the clinic significantly increases the scope for LymPro pharma services collaborations and begins to refine LymPro’s clinical utility profile for primary care physicians as strategies to correct cell cycle dysregulation emerge.”
About Alzheimer's Disease
According to the Alzheimer's Association, it is estimated that over 5.4 million people in the United States suffer from Alzheimer's disease. Over 500,000 patients are diagnosed annually, with nearly one-in-eight older Americans affected by the disease. Alzheimer's disease is the third leading cause of death in the United States. The cost of unpaid care in the United States is estimated at over $210 billion annually. Total payments for care are estimated at over $200 billion annually, including $140 billion in cost to Medicare and Medicaid. Alzheimer's expenditures in the United States are expected to exceed $1.2 trillion by 2050. There is no cure or effective treatment for Alzheimer's disease. Worldwide, about 35.6 million individuals have the disease and, according to the World Health Organization, the number will double every 20 years to 115.4 million people with Alzheimer's by 2050.
About Dr. Arendt's Research at Leipzig University
Dr. Thomas Arendt is Professor of Neuroscience at Leipzig University where he runs the Paul Flechsig Institute of Brain Research. He has a 30-year record in R&D of therapeutic and diagnostic strategies of neurodegenerative disorders and made several seminal contributions to therapeutic concepts of Alzheimer's disease, including stem cell therapy and modulating tumor suppressor genes. In the early 1980's, he was involved in identifying the degeneration of the cholinergic system in Alzheimer's disease laying the basis for today's only available treatment. He is one of the pioneers of the "cell-cycle theory" of Alzheimer's disease, which he developed towards a diagnostic and therapeutic concept.
About Breakthrough Diagnostics, Inc.
Breakthrough Diagnostics, Inc. is a joint venture owned by Amarantus Bioscience Holdings, Inc. (OTCPK: AMBS) (80.01%) and Todos Medical Ltd. (19.99%). Breakthrough has been assigned the intellectual property and other rights to the LymPro Test®, a diagnostic blood test for Alzheimer’s disease, as well as rights to other neurological diagnostics testing intellectual property. Todos Medical has provided Amarantus with notice of Todos’ decision to exercise its exclusive option to acquire the 80.01% of Breakthrough Diagnostics that it currently does not own.
The Lymphocyte Proliferation Test (LymPro Test™) determines the ability of peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) and monocytes to withstand an exogenous mitogenic stimulation that induces them to enter the cell cycle. It is believed that certain diseases, most notably Alzheimer's disease, are the result of compromised cellular machinery that leads to aberrant cell cycle re-entry by neurons, which then leads to apoptosis. LymPro is unique in the use of peripheral blood lymphocytes as surrogates for neuronal cell function, suggesting a common relationship between PBLs and neurons in the brain.
About Todos Medical Ltd.
Todos Medical Ltd. is an in-vitro diagnostic company engaged in the development of blood tests for the early detection of a variety of cancers, and also has initiated the development of blood tests for neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease through Breakthrough Diagnostics, Inc., its joint venture with Amarantus Bioscience Holdings, Inc. Todos has developed two cancer screening tests based on TBIA (Todos Biochemical Infrared Analyses), a method for cancer screening using peripheral blood analysis. The TBIA screening method is based on the cancer’s influence on the immune system, which triggers biochemical changes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and plasma. This proprietary and patented method incorporates biochemistry, physics and signal processing. The company’s two cancer screening tests, TM-B1 and TM-B2, have received the CE mark. Breakthrough Diagnostics is developing the LymPro Test®, a blood test for diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease.
About Amarantus Bioscience Holdings, Inc.
Amarantus Bioscience Holdings (AMBS) is a JLABS alumnus biotechnology company developing treatments and diagnostics for diseases in the areas of neurology, regenerative medicine and orphan diseases through its subsidiaries. The Company‘s 80.01%-owned subsidiary Breakthrough Diagnostics, Inc., currently a joint venture with Todos Medical, Ltd., has licensed intellectual property rights to the Alzheimer’s blood diagnostic LymPro Test ® from Leipzig University that was originally developed by Dr. Thomas Arendt, as well as certain rights to multiple sclerosis diagnostic MSPrecise™ and Parkinson’s diagnostic NuroPro. Amarantus entered into a joint venture agreement with Todos Medical, Ltd. to advance diagnostic screening assets and Todos has exercised its exclusive option to acquire Amarantus’ remaining ownership in Breakthrough in exchange for approximately 50% ownership of Todos. The transaction is expected close before the end of the first quarter of 2020. Amarantus also owns approximately 30% of the common shares of Avant Diagnostics, Inc., a healthcare data-generating technology company that specializes in biomarker assay services that target multiple areas of oncology. Avant provides precision oncology data through its TheraLink® assays to assist the biopharmaceutical industry and clinical oncologists in identifying likely responders, initially for breast cancer, to over 70 FDA-approved drug treatments.
AMBS’ 50%-owned subsidiary Elto Pharma, Inc. has development rights to eltoprazine, a Phase 2b-ready small molecule indicated for Parkinson's disease levodopa-induced dyskinesia, Alzheimer’s aggression and adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, commonly known as ADHD. AMBS acquired Cutanogen Corporation from Lonza Group in 2015. Cutanogen is preparing for pivotal studies with Engineered Skin Substitute (ESS) for the treatment of pediatric life-threatening severe burns. ESS is a regenerative medicine-based, autologous full-thickness skin graft technology originally developed by the Shriner’s Hospital that can be used to treat severe burns, as well as several other catastrophic and cosmetic dermatological indications. AMBS’ wholly-owned subsidiary, MANF Therapeutics Inc. owns key intellectual property rights and licenses from a number of prominent universities related to the development of the therapeutic protein known as mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor (“MANF”). MANF Therapeutics is developing MANF-based products as treatments for ophthalmological disorders such as Wolfram Syndrome, Retinitis Pigmentosa and Glaucoma, as well as neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease. MANF was discovered by the Company’s Chief Scientific Officer John Commissiong, PhD. Dr. Commissiong discovered MANF from AMBS’ proprietary discovery engine PhenoGuard, and believes several other neurotrophic factors remain to be discovered. Amarantus has entered into a binding letter of intent to license the therapeutic assets from Elto Pharma, Cutanogen and MANF Therapeutics to Emerald Organic Products.
Aloha
Topline results expected before the end of Q1/2020
REHOVOT, Israel and NEW YORK, Nov. 14, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Todos Medical Ltd. (OTCQB: TOMDF), a clinical-stage in-vitro diagnostics company focused on the development of blood tests for the early detection of cancer and neurodegenerative disorders, and Amarantus Bioscience Holdings, Inc. a US-based JLABS-alumnus biotechnology holding company developing proprietary orphan neurologic, regenerative medicine and ophthalmic therapies and diagnostics through its subsidiaries, today announced that their joint venture company, Breakthrough Diagnostics, Inc. has completed enrollment of its ongoing clinical trial evaluating the relationship of Alzheimer’s blood diagnostic Lymphocyte Proliferation Test (LymPro Test™) with amyloid PET neuroimaging at Leipzig University in Germany (the ‘LymPro PET 2’). Topline results are expected before the end of the first quarter of 2020.
Breakthrough completed a 20-subject clinical study (LymPro PET 1) in 2018 evaluating the correlation between LymPro scores and the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, as confirmed with amyloid PET neuroimaging and other Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers. LymPro measures cell cycle dysregulation in peripheral lymphocytes. The top-line data, announced in July 2019, revealed a strong and statistically significant correlation between LymPro scores and amyloid PET neuroimaging cSUVR scores (r = -0.849; p = 0.00000216). Breakthrough’s academic collaborators at the Leipzig University then expanded enrollment of that study to include an additional cohort of 20 subjects (LymPro PET 2) to confirm the strong relationship seen from LymPro PET 1. The data from both LymPro 1 and LymPro 2 will be published together in a peer-reviewed journal in 2020.
“LymPro is a unique immune system-based Alzheimer’s blood test,” said Dr. Herman Weiss, President & CEO of Todos. “LymPro could prove to be a major breakthrough for Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis by measuring cell cycle dysregulation and amyloid, together, conveniently as part of a blood workup in routine clinical practice. The therapeutic field in Alzheimer’s has begun to see some renewed hope based upon recent Aducanumab data announced by Biogen that is directly related to the amyloid hypothesis, as well as conditional approval by the National Medical Products Administration in China for the first new Alzheimer’s drug in over 20 years, called Oligomannate from Shanghai Green Valley Pharmaceuticals, that is based on gut-brain biology of the microbiome and its effects on the immune system. We believe this renewed optimism and broadening of pathophysiological hypotheses relevant to Alzheimer’s disease being evaluated in the clinic significantly increases the scope for LymPro pharma services collaborations and begins to refine LymPro’s clinical utility profile for primary care physicians as strategies to correct cell cycle dysregulation emerge.”
About Alzheimer's Disease
According to the Alzheimer's Association, it is estimated that over 5.4 million people in the United States suffer from Alzheimer's disease. Over 500,000 patients are diagnosed annually, with nearly one-in-eight older Americans affected by the disease. Alzheimer's disease is the third leading cause of death in the United States. The cost of unpaid care in the United States is estimated at over $210 billion annually. Total payments for care are estimated at over $200 billion annually, including $140 billion in cost to Medicare and Medicaid. Alzheimer's expenditures in the United States are expected to exceed $1.2 trillion by 2050. There is no cure or effective treatment for Alzheimer's disease. Worldwide, about 35.6 million individuals have the disease and, according to the World Health Organization, the number will double every 20 years to 115.4 million people with Alzheimer's by 2050.
About Dr. Arendt's Research at Leipzig University
Dr. Thomas Arendt is Professor of Neuroscience at Leipzig University where he runs the Paul Flechsig Institute of Brain Research. He has a 30-year record in R&D of therapeutic and diagnostic strategies of neurodegenerative disorders and made several seminal contributions to therapeutic concepts of Alzheimer's disease, including stem cell therapy and modulating tumor suppressor genes. In the early 1980's, he was involved in identifying the degeneration of the cholinergic system in Alzheimer's disease laying the basis for today's only available treatment. He is one of the pioneers of the "cell-cycle theory" of Alzheimer's disease, which he developed towards a diagnostic and therapeutic concept.
About Breakthrough Diagnostics, Inc.
Breakthrough Diagnostics, Inc. is a joint venture owned by Amarantus Bioscience Holdings, Inc. (OTCPK: AMBS) (80.01%) and Todos Medical Ltd. (19.99%). Breakthrough has been assigned the intellectual property and other rights to the LymPro Test®, a diagnostic blood test for Alzheimer’s disease, as well as rights to other neurological diagnostics testing intellectual property. Todos Medical has provided Amarantus with notice of Todos’ decision to exercise its exclusive option to acquire the 80.01% of Breakthrough Diagnostics that it currently does not own.
The Lymphocyte Proliferation Test (LymPro Test™) determines the ability of peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) and monocytes to withstand an exogenous mitogenic stimulation that induces them to enter the cell cycle. It is believed that certain diseases, most notably Alzheimer's disease, are the result of compromised cellular machinery that leads to aberrant cell cycle re-entry by neurons, which then leads to apoptosis. LymPro is unique in the use of peripheral blood lymphocytes as surrogates for neuronal cell function, suggesting a common relationship between PBLs and neurons in the brain.
About Todos Medical Ltd.
Todos Medical Ltd. is an in-vitro diagnostic company engaged in the development of blood tests for the early detection of a variety of cancers, and also has initiated the development of blood tests for neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease through Breakthrough Diagnostics, Inc., its joint venture with Amarantus Bioscience Holdings, Inc. Todos has developed two cancer screening tests based on TBIA (Todos Biochemical Infrared Analyses), a method for cancer screening using peripheral blood analysis. The TBIA screening method is based on the cancer’s influence on the immune system, which triggers biochemical changes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and plasma. This proprietary and patented method incorporates biochemistry, physics and signal processing. The company’s two cancer screening tests, TM-B1 and TM-B2, have received the CE mark. Breakthrough Diagnostics is developing the LymPro Test®, a blood test for diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease.
About Amarantus Bioscience Holdings, Inc.
Amarantus Bioscience Holdings (AMBS) is a JLABS alumnus biotechnology company developing treatments and diagnostics for diseases in the areas of neurology, regenerative medicine and orphan diseases through its subsidiaries. The Company‘s 80.01%-owned subsidiary Breakthrough Diagnostics, Inc., currently a joint venture with Todos Medical, Ltd., has licensed intellectual property rights to the Alzheimer’s blood diagnostic LymPro Test ® from Leipzig University that was originally developed by Dr. Thomas Arendt, as well as certain rights to multiple sclerosis diagnostic MSPrecise™ and Parkinson’s diagnostic NuroPro. Amarantus entered into a joint venture agreement with Todos Medical, Ltd. to advance diagnostic screening assets and Todos has exercised its exclusive option to acquire Amarantus’ remaining ownership in Breakthrough in exchange for approximately 50% ownership of Todos. The transaction is expected close before the end of the first quarter of 2020. Amarantus also owns approximately 30% of the common shares of Avant Diagnostics, Inc., a healthcare data-generating technology company that specializes in biomarker assay services that target multiple areas of oncology. Avant provides precision oncology data through its TheraLink® assays to assist the biopharmaceutical industry and clinical oncologists in identifying likely responders, initially for breast cancer, to over 70 FDA-approved drug treatments.
AMBS’ 50%-owned subsidiary Elto Pharma, Inc. has development rights to eltoprazine, a Phase 2b-ready small molecule indicated for Parkinson's disease levodopa-induced dyskinesia, Alzheimer’s aggression and adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, commonly known as ADHD. AMBS acquired Cutanogen Corporation from Lonza Group in 2015. Cutanogen is preparing for pivotal studies with Engineered Skin Substitute (ESS) for the treatment of pediatric life-threatening severe burns. ESS is a regenerative medicine-based, autologous full-thickness skin graft technology originally developed by the Shriner’s Hospital that can be used to treat severe burns, as well as several other catastrophic and cosmetic dermatological indications. AMBS’ wholly-owned subsidiary, MANF Therapeutics Inc. owns key intellectual property rights and licenses from a number of prominent universities related to the development of the therapeutic protein known as mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor (“MANF”). MANF Therapeutics is developing MANF-based products as treatments for ophthalmological disorders such as Wolfram Syndrome, Retinitis Pigmentosa and Glaucoma, as well as neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease. MANF was discovered by the Company’s Chief Scientific Officer John Commissiong, PhD. Dr. Commissiong discovered MANF from AMBS’ proprietary discovery engine PhenoGuard, and believes several other neurotrophic factors remain to be discovered. Amarantus has entered into a binding letter of intent to license the therapeutic assets from Elto Pharma, Cutanogen and MANF Therapeutics to Emerald Organic Products.
Aloha
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