VistaGen Sees Promise For Stem Cell 'Breakthrough' To Accelerate Drug Discovery And Development

Main Category: Stem Cell Research
Article Date: 26 Nov 2007 - 3:00 PDT

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VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc., welcomes news of the technological discovery reported this week that reprograms adult skin cells into human universal cells, according to H. Ralph Snodgrass, Ph.D., president and CEO. VistaGen is a platform-enabled biopharmaceutical company applying embryonic stem cell technologies to discover, develop and commercialize small molecule drugs and protein therapeutics for diabetes and neurological disorders.

"This is very positive news both for our company and our industry," said Dr. Snodgrass. "Any new discovery or technology that enables the generation of diverse embryonic stem cells, especially those unique to specific diseases, is very useful. Our technologies enable us to differentiate embryonic stem cells into mature cells for leading-edge customized drug discovery and screening assays. We anticipate that this advancement should be able to complement our existing technologies by enabling us to focus with greater efficiency on specific genetic diseases, and on drugs that are safe and effective for a genetically diverse patient population."

The discovery, reported both by James A. Thomson, the University of Wisconsin researcher who extracted stem cells from human embryos originally, and by Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University, showed that adult skin cells can be reprogrammed to mimic embryonic stem cells by adding four genes. The genes reprogrammed the chromosomes of the skin cells, making the cells into blank slates that should be able to turn into any of the 220 cell types of the human body, such as heart, brain, blood or bone.

VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc. is an emerging biopharmaceutical technology leader applying patented embryonic stem cell technologies for predictive toxicology screening and to discover, develop and commercialize new drug and protein therapies for diabetes and neurological disorders, including neuropathic pain, Parkinson's disease and epilepsy. Founded in California in 1998, VistaGen discovers and develops drugs for its own pipeline through internal programs and collaborations with leading research organizations worldwide. VistaGen also leverages its proprietary embryonic stem cell technology platform through strategic collaborations with leading pharmaceutical companies worldwide.

http://www.vistagen.com

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