Quark Biotech, Inc. and ES Cell International Pte Ltd Announce Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research Collaboration at BIO 2001.Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers BIOWIRE2K BIO 2001 SAN DIEGO--(BW HealthWire)--June 25, 2001 QBI's High-Throughput Gene Discovery Technology Will be Teamed With ESI's Human Embryonic Stem Cell Embryonic stem cells (ES cells) are stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of an early stage embryo known as a blastocyst. Human embryos reach the blastocyst stage 4-5 days post fertilization, at which time they consist of 50-150 cells. ES cells are pluripotent. Platform to Search for Novel hES Growth, Inhibition and Differentiation Factors Quark Biotech, Inc. (QBI QBI Queensland Brain Institute (Brisbane, Australia) QBI Quality Botanical Ingredients, Inc. QBI Quite Bloody Impossible QBI Quantile-Based Inspection Scheme QBI Qualified Best Images ) and ES Cell International Pte Ltd PTE LTD Private Limited . (ESI (Edge Side Includes) A markup language for Web pages that enables elements of a Web page to be dynamically assembled in servers distributed throughout the Internet. ) today announced a joint human embryonic stem cell research program to discover the underlying causes of human embryonic stem cell differentiation and self renewal. Robert Klupacs, Founding CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of ESI, announced the collaboration today at the BIO 2001 Investors and Partnering Forum in San Diego, California “San Diego” redirects here. For other uses, see San Diego (disambiguation). San Diego is a coastal Southern California city located in the southwestern corner of the continental United States. As of 2006, the city has a population of 1,256,951. . The initial goal of the QBI/ESI collaboration is to understand and master novel methods of growth of human embryonic stem cells (hES) and their inhibition and differentiation into specific lineages. The companies will use QBI's proprietary technology platform to discover new genes such as growth factors derived from hES cells. The long-term objective is to develop pharmaceutical products and therapies (including cell therapy, gene therapy and organ transplants, hES cell derived products for regenerative medicine and research applications), diagnostic products and screening assays based on the identified genes. "Pluripotent stem cells pluripotent stem cell Hematology The 'mother of all cells'–the progenitor of all hematopoietic cells–eg, platelets, RBCs, neutrophils, macrophages, lymphocytes. See Stem celll. divide and give rise to all types of specialized cells in the human body," said Daniel Zurr, Ph.D., chief executive officer and founder of QBI. "Isolation and successful culturing of human pluripotent stem cells have brought biomedical research Biomedical research (or experimental medicine), in general simply known as medical research, is the basic research or applied research conducted to aid the body of knowledge in the field of medicine. to the edge of a new frontier New Frontier President John F. Kennedy’s legislative program, encompassing such areas as civil rights, the economy, and foreign relations. [Am. Hist.: WB, K:212] See : Aid, Governmental . Our collaboration with ESI has the potential to significantly contribute to the development of new therapies for the most devastating dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. diseases." "Many diseases and disorders result from disruption of cellular function, or destruction of tissues of the body," said Mr. Klupacs. "Donated organs and tissues are used today to replace ailing or destroyed tissue. But the number of people suffering from these disorders far outstrips the number of organs available for transplantation. Discovering how pluripotent stem cells could be stimulated to develop into specialized cells could eventually lead to creating a renewable source of replacement cells and tissue to treat a myriad of diseases." The QBI/ESI collaboration could also lead to changes in the way drugs are developed and tested for safety. This could dramatically streamline and speed the drug development process. "Teaming with QBI is a major part of ESI's mission to develop therapies for major diseases by identifying hES growth stimuli," continued Mr. Klupacs. "The initial goal of our collaboration with QBI is the identification of the factors involved in the cellular processes that cause cell specialization." "At the most fundamental level, our work with ESI will help us to understand the complex events that occur during human development, and complements our work in mouse embryonic stem cells," said Dr. Zurr. "QBI's discovery platform is ideally suitable for the discovery of factors, particularly secreted factors and their function. We are confident that our collaboration with ESI will help us uncover differentiation and growth factors that will the basis for novel pharmaceuticals to cure diseases." About ES Cell International Pte Ltd. ESI was established in July 2000, with $17M in seed capital provided by two investment groups, Life Science Investments, Singapore and ES Cell Australia Pty Ltd PTY LTD Propriety Limited (company structure in Australia) . ESI is using the committed funds to develop the human embryonic stem cells intellectual property exclusively licensed to ESI from Monash Institute of Reproduction and Development (Australia), The National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (Abbreviation: NUS) is Singapore's oldest university. It is the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curriculum offered. , Hadassah Medical Organisation/Hadasit Ltd (Israel), and the Hubrecht Laboratory of the Netherlands Institute of Developmental Biology Developmental biology A large field of investigation that includes the study of all changes associated with an organism as it progresses through the life cycle. The life cycles of all multicellular organisms exhibit many similarities. . ESI aims to use platform technologies relating to human embryonic stem cells to develop novel hES cell derived products for regenerative medicine and research applications, particularly in the neurological, cardiovascular and haemopieteic fields: Regenerative Medicine: -- Cell Therapies or Recombinant Pharmaceutical treatment for MS, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, stroke, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, skin for burns and grafts, respiratory diseases. -- Gene Therapy for Cancers, Cystic Fibrosis, Huntington's, Thalassaemia, Haemophilia. -- Bioengineering of organs: nerve bundles for spinal cord repair, pancreas, liver, heart etc. Research Applications: -- Drug Discovery and Toxicology. -- Development of novel growth factors for embryonic stem cell growth and differentiation. -- Development of genetic modification techniques to create cell culture models for human diseases. About Quark Biotech, Inc. QBI, founded in 1994, is an established, privately held U.S. company. It is a genomic-based drug discovery company with the expertise and proprietary technology platform to find and understand the biological functions of genes critical to virtually any disease. This leads to a unique ability to identify ideal "targets" for pharmaceutical intervention within months instead of years. In May of this year, QBI announced that it has entered into new research collaboration with the Cleveland Clinic. QBI also announced plans to move its headquarters to the Cleveland Clinic campus. QBI's broad technology platform includes library preparation methods, expression profiling, DNA chip technology, functional profiling, bioinformatic methods and algorithms, bioassays and readouts, high throughput screening of chemical libraries, validation and product development capabilities. The Company is engaged in a variety of research projects aimed at developing pharmaceutical products in major disease areas such as: breast cancer, bladder cancer bladder cancer Malignant tumour of the bladder. The most significant risk factor associated with bladder cancer is smoking. Exposure to chemicals called arylamines, which are used in the leather, rubber, printing, and textiles industries, is another risk factor. and other solid tumors, fibrotic diseases, cardiovascular and ischemic Ischemic An inadequate supply of blood to a part of the body, caused by partial or total blockage of an artery. Mentioned in: Antiangiogenic Therapy, Subarachnoid Hemorrhage, Ventricular Fibrillation ischemic diseases, stroke, osteoporosis, and diabetes. QBI's global team includes more than 200 people, 100 of whom are PhDs with backgrounds in molecular and cell biology, gene discovery, signal transduction, pathology, chemistry and medicine. The bioinformatics group has 50 specialists in DNA DNA: see nucleic acid. DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid One of two types of nucleic acid (the other is RNA); a complex organic compound found in all living cells and many viruses. It is the chemical substance of genes. and protein analysis, algorithm development, programming and statistics. QBI has additional research facilities located in the Weizmann Science Park, Ness-Ziona, Israel and Chicago, Illinois. Note: Any editors/reporters attending BIO 2001 may contact Patrick Villa at 858/663-1626 to schedule interviews regarding this press release. You may also speak with Robert Klupacs, CEO of ESI, at the Monash University booth No. 113 in the Australian Pavillion. |
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