Tissue Regeneration Therapeutics Grants Exclusive U.S. License for PeriVascular Umbilical Cord Stem Cell Technology to PerkinElmer's ViaCord® Cord Blood Banking Business.


The agreement includes a collaborative research initiative, which supports Tissue Regeneration Therapeutics' international leadership in the field of mesenchymal stem cell technology.

Toronto, ON (October 28, 2011) - J. E. Davies, President and CEO of Tissue Regeneration Therapeutics (TRT), announced today an exclusive licensing agreement with PerkinElmer's family cord blood banking business, ViaCord®, which will now be able to offer families in the US the ability to extract stem cells from the tissue surrounding the vessels of the umbilical cord, a rich source of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). The proprietary extraction method is enabled through TRT's human umbilical cord perivascular cell (HUCPVC) technology.

TRT first identified this important source of newborn stem cells, a finding independently confirmed by international research groups. Since these stem cells have many important potential applications in the body, they may represent a valued medical option to ViaCord's family banking customers for a variety of diseases. TRT has shown that these cells can produce all the tissues of the musculo-skeletal system e.g. bone, cartilage, muscle, tendons and the dermis of the skin. These cells also accelerate wound healing by stimulating the growth of new blood vessels, and additionally possess unique immuno-regulatory properties and may be used to treat immune and inflammatory diseases.

Families in Canada were the first in the world to have access, since 2006, to this umbilical cord tissue HUCPVC technology through a license to CReATe Cord Blood Bank, who market the TRT technology as PeristemTM, making both TRT and CreATe leaders in the worldwide stem cell community. "Because of this agreement between ViaCord and TRT, ViaCord can exclusively offer families in the US the ability to benefit from TRT's robust, and leading, internationally patented technology," said Bruce Berckmans, Vice President of Business Development for TRT.

The TRT technology will be offered in the US to expectant parents, by ViaCord, as an important adjunct to their current cord cell banking services. "The agreement between ViaCord and TRT further distinguishes ViaCord's leadership in the area of cord tissue stem cell banking by providing our customers with exclusive access to this rich source of MSCs from umbilical cord tissue," said Morey Kraus, chief scientific officer for ViaCord. This new capability is exclusive to ViaCord, the only cord blood banking service in the US with licenses to patent rights relating to the expansion of MSCs from cord tissue as well as the extraction and expansion of MSCs from the tissue around the cord vessels. Banking newborn cord tissue stem cells in addition to cord blood stem cells provides the potential for a greater number and variety of cells, increasing chances of potential success and benefit from possible therapeutic applications.

The agreement also includes a collaborative research initiative, which will focus on the therapeutic benefits and anti-inflammatory properties of TRT's mesenchymal stem cells. "ViaCord has established a leading position in the study and identification of new uses for stem cell treatments within the clinical setting, and is an ideal complement to the robust scientific foundation that we, at TRT, have built in the MSC field," said Davies. The initiative is designed to generate results that will provide a foundation for clinical studies of stem cell applications for inflammatory joint diseases.

ViaCord family cord banking services currently offers expectant families the opportunity to preserve their baby's umbilical cord blood, and cord tissue cells, for potential medical use by the child or a related family member. To date, ViaCord has preserved the umbilical cord blood of more than 250,000 newborns.

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