International Stem Cell Corporation (ISCO:OTCQB), a biotechnology company developing novel stem cell-based therapies, announced the development of a new method for the derivation of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) that utilizes a novel protein-based reprogramming process. The Company believes that the new method is a safer and more efficient alternative to older iPS reprogramming techniques, and represents a step forward in the ability to use iPS clinically.

International Stem Cell Corp. (ISCO-OTCQB), a biotechnology company developing novel stem cell-based therapies and biomedical products, provided a business update and announced financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2013.

International Stem Cell Corp. (ISCO-OTCQB) has announced new results from its preclinical Parkinson's disease program. ISCO is developing a novel approach that uses self-renewing human parthenogenetic neural stem cells (hPNSCs), which are derived from the Company’s proprietary histocompatible human pluripotent stem cells, to treat Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson's disease is a progressive disorder of the nervous system that affects four million to six million people worldwide (Source: National Parkinson Foundation). It belongs to a group of motor system disorders that result from the loss of dopamine-producing cells in the brain.

ISCO is currently evaluating its Parkinson's therapy in final preclinical primate studies. Data collected as part of a collaboration with the Sanford Burnham Medical Research Institute, summarized below, was announced at the American Neurological Association's 2013 Annual Meeting in New Orleans.

• The neural stem cells were shown to migrate a significant distance from the site of implantation (in the striatum) to the main region where the loss of dopamine-releasing (“dopaminergic”) neurons occurs in Parkinson's patients—the substantia nigra. No evidence of migration outside the brain was observed.

• Regarding safety, ISCO’s neural stem cells elicited a lower immunogenic response versus other cell types included in the study.

• The study conclusively demonstrated that the neural stem cells were able to differentiate into the specific type of neurons lost in Parkinson’s disease.

Yesterday, we released a Quarterly Update on International Stem Cell Corporation (ISCO-OTC). This 12-page report is a follow-up to our 72-page and very in-depth Executive Informational Overview® published in August. Full text of the newly issued Update is available here.  

ISCO is focused on the therapeutic applications of human parthenogenetic stem cells (hpSCs) to treat diseases of the brain, liver, and the eye. ISCO’s proprietary technology is based on the creation of stem cells through parthenogenesis, a form of asexual reproduction that involves the stimulation of a human oocyte (egg) to start the cell division process without actual fertilization. Since the eggs are not fertilized, no viable human embryo is created nor destroyed for the generation of ISCO’s hpSC lines. The Company believes that these therapeutic stem cells avoid the safety, economic, and ethical concerns inherent with existing stem cell technologies.  

Earlier today, International Stem Cell Corporation (ISCO-OTC) announced that it has signed a master clinical research agreement with Duke University to conduct clinical trials research in Parkinson's disease using ISCO's innovative neural stem cell product. The research is expected to be coordinated by the Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI) and led by Mark Stacy, M.D., vice dean for clinical research, neurology at Duke University School of Medicine and one of the preeminent experts on neurology, having published more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific papers on Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders. The collaboration with DCRI also provides ISCO with access to Duke's clinical expertise in cell therapy clinical trials as well as an extensive patient population, giving the Company an opportunity to evaluate its stem cell therapy in Parkinson's disease.