MIAMI, Nov. 14, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Founded in California in 2008, Amarantus Biosciences, Inc. (OTCBB:AMBS) is now poised to take the biotech world by storm with their proprietary new technology. It's called Mesencephalic-Astrocyte-derived Neurotrophic Factor, or MANF, for short. Discovered by combining research conducted at the National Institutes of Health throughout the 1990s, this highly potent protein treatment for diseases caused by cell death (apoptosis) is currently in pre-clinical development. Their first target is Parkinson's disease.
October was a breakthrough month for Amarantus Biosciences as it announced the Notice of Allowance from the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO). This new patent complements Amarantus' existing collection of issued patents throughout Europe and pending patent applications worldwide. The company also completed a closed a $10M Equity Funding Facility with Centurion Private Equity, LLC.
In striving to put together a highly qualified advisory board, Amarantus recently appointed the President of American Medical Association Foundation Dr. Owen Garrick as Strategic Advisor. Dr. Garrick previously held positions as Director of Corporate Strategy at McKesson Corporation, Executive Director and Co-Head of Mergers & Acquisitions at Novartis Pharmaceuticals and received his MD from Yale School of Medicine. The prestigious team continues to grow, and the list reads like a who's who of biotech companies.
Why all the support? It could be because Parkinson's disease represents a $3 billion global market and affects more than a million people in the U.S. alone. The buzz on Wall Street surrounding Amarantus is the grant from the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. This money funded a pre-clinical experiment that confirmed what was previously reported in the Journal of Neuroscience in 2009 - that MANF significantly reduces the behavioral deficits caused by the neurotoxin 6-OHDA in a standard animal model of Parkinson's disease.
"Since 2003, 14 papers have been published in highly-respected peer-reviewed journals describing MANF's ability to rescue neurons from death in a variety of cellular and animal models of CNS disease," said John Commissiong PhD, the Chief Scientific Officer of Amarantus who discovered MANF.
By 2032, the incidence of Parkinson's disease is expected to double, and as of yet, there is no effective treatment. Amarantus is dedicated to changing that.
What's next after that? CEO Gerald Commissiong guarantees that Amarantus will continue to file patents and build a strong intellectual property portfolio from their inventory of 88 cell lines referred to as "PhenoGuard Cell Lines". MANF was the first therapeutic protein discovered from a PhenoGuard Cell Line, but the possibilities are limitless. These therapeutic proteins aim to address a host of major apoptosis-related diseases including Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy, macular degeneration and traumatic brain injury. In layman's terms, this is one to watch.
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Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the possible benefits of MANF therapeutic applications and/or advantages presented by Amarantus' PhenoGuard technology, as well as statements about expectations, plans and prospects of the development of Amarantus' new product candidates. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including the risks that the anticipated benefits of the therapeutic drug candidates or discovery platforms, as well as the risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to the development of Amarantus' new product candidates, including those identified under "Risk Factors" in Amarantus' most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and in other filings Amarantus periodically makes with the SEC. Actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by these forward-looking statements Amarantus does not undertake to update any of these forward-looking statements to reflect a change in its views or events or circumstances that occur after the date of this presentation.
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