High Q and Stem Cell Innovations, Inc. to Collaborate

HD Lighthouse Contributing Editor's Comment: Drug discovery is an important step in developing treatments for Huntington's Disease. There are thousands of existing drugs and compounds, some approved for other diseases and some in pharmaceutical company libraries and not currently being used. One or more of these may be a treatment for Huntington's Disease and it's important to identify the most promising candidates for testing in animal models as quickly as possible.

Stem Cell Innovations, Inc., has developed some technologies that can be used to make cell models of Huntington's Disease that could quickly identify promising compounds for further testing.

To read more about research and development at SCI, Inc. go to their website: http://www.stemcellinnovations.com/index.php?home

-- Marsha L. Miller, Ph.D.
Posted to the HDL: 27 Jun 2007

Human neuronal cells generated from Pluricells. Photo co. Stem Cell Innovations. Used by permission.

Alliance to Provide up to $1.1 Million for Development of Stem Cell Innovations' Proprietary PluriCells Technology

June 25, 2007

Houston & New York - The High Q Foundation Inc. (High Q), a foundation that supports research aimed at finding treatments for Huntington's disease, and Stem Cell Innovations, Inc. (SCI) (OTCBB: SCLL) announced today that they have entered into a two-year R&D alliance. The organizations will apply SCI's PluriCells(TM) to develop Huntington's disease specific human cell systems for the purpose of drug discovery. Under the terms of their agreement, SCI will receive up to $1.1 million from High Q upon completion of certain milestones. In addition, SCI has the right to further use, develop and commercialise the outcome of the project.

"We are extremely pleased to enter this significant collaboration with the High Q, a leader in the support of research aimed at combating Huntington's disease. This agreement will allow us to accelerate our efforts in generating a unique panel of human neurodegenerative disease models, which will be integral in the further development of our potential products," said Stem Cell Innovations' CEO Dr. James Kelly. "Huntington's disease represents a great unmet medical need and SCI is proud to assist High Q with its search to treatments that prevent or slow its progression."

"Stem Cell Innovations is developing a potentially powerful technology that may offer a route to screening for novel treatment alternatives for patients with Huntington disease," said Dr. Jamshid Arjomand of High Q. "High Q is dedicated to exploring novel approaches to find treatments for Huntington's disease and we are pleased to be partnered with SCI in our endeavour to advance our understanding of this deadly disease."

About Huntington's Disease

Huntington's Disease is a familial disease, passed from parent to child through a mutation in a gene. Each child of a Huntington Disease parent has a 50-50 chance of inheriting the Huntington Disease gene which causes programmed degeneration of brain cells and results in emotional disturbance, loss of intellectual faculties and uncontrolled movements. Most people with Huntington Disease develop the symptoms at midlife but in some people onset occurs in infancy or old age. The average survival time after onset is approximately fifteen to twenty years. It is estimated that about one in every 10,000 persons has the Huntington Disease gene. At this time, there is no way to stop or reverse the course of Huntington Disease.

About High Q and CHDI, Inc.

High Q and CHDI, Inc. are non-profit organizations that share the mission of bringing together academia, industry, governmental agencies, and other funding organizations in the search for Huntington's disease treatments.

High Q supports Huntington's disease research aimed at target identification and validation, the development and use of animal models, drug delivery, and the search for markers of disease progression. For more information about High Q and its support of Huntington's disease research please see www.highqfoundation.org.

CHDI, Inc. is pursuing a biotech approach to rapidly discover and develop drugs that prevent or slow Huntington's Disease. Through collaborations with industrial and academic partners, CHDI, Inc., participates in all aspects of drug discovery and development from high throughput screening to preclinical development. For more information about CHDI, Inc. and its collaborative programs please see www.chdi-inc.org.

About Stem Cell Innovations, Inc.

Stem Cell Innovation (SCI) is a cell biology company with offices in Scotch Plains, NJ, and facilities in Houston, TX, and Leiden, the Netherlands. SCI's proprietary, human pluripotent stem cells, known as PluriCells, have the potential to aid in drug discovery, toxicology, and cell therapy. The company is in the process of making its patented pluripotent cell lines, which are eligible for federal funding in the U.S., widely available to universities and other not-for-profit institutions to rapidly advance stem cell research.

Stem Cell Innovations is positioned to become a leading provider of toxicology testing and discovery systems for the pharmaceutical, chemical, and nutraceutical industries around the world. The development of the proprietary PluriCell technology greatly expands the Company's currently marketed ACTIVTox® human liver cell-based toxicology offerings.

Source: press release

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