FREMONT, Calif., June 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Asterias Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NYSE MKT: AST), a biotechnology company with three clinical-stage development programs focused on the emerging field of regenerative medicine, today announced that a review of its AST-OPC1 (oligodendrocyte progenitor cells) spinal cord injury program will be presented during an oral session at the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) Annual Meeting, being held in San Francisco, CA from June 22-25, 2016.
Presentation Details
Jane S. Lebkowski, Ph.D., Asterias' President of R&D and Chief Scientific Officer, will be one of the presenters during the 'Road to the Clinic" session scheduled on Saturday, June 25th at 1:15pm (PT). Dr. Lebkowski's presentation, titled "Clinical Assessment of hESC-derived Oligodendrocyte Progenitor Cells (AST-OPC1) in Patients with Sensorimotor-complete Thoracic and Cervical Spinal Cord Injuries," is expected to begin at 2:30pm (PT).
Panel Discussion Details
During the same ISSCR annual meeting, Katy Spink, Ph.D., Asterias' Chief Operating Officer will participate on a Focus Session titled "Tools for Basic and Applied Stem Cell Biology." This session is organized by Stem Cell COREdinates, a consortium of human pluripotent stem cell-focused shared facilities that have joined forces to share experiences, expertise with protocols and reagents, and to establish "best practices." The session runs from 9:00am to 12:00pm (PT) on Wednesday, June 22nd. Following a series of presentations Dr. Spink will sit on a panel discussing pluripotent stem cell-based therapies, which begins at 11:00am (PT).
The ISSCR is an independent nonprofit organization and the voice of the stem cell research community. The ISSCR was founded in 2002 to foster the exchange of information on stem cell research and now claims more than 4,100 members worldwide. The ISSCR Annual Meeting provides an opportunity to learn of groundbreaking research from all areas of stem cell science. The meeting attracts over 3,500 stem cell research professionals each year and provides an excellent forum for scientists to present and discuss their latest research with participants from academic, industry and government settings from around the world.
About Asterias Biotherapeutics
Asterias Biotherapeutics, Inc. is a leading biotechnology company in the emerging field of regenerative medicine. The company's proprietary cell therapy programs are based on its immunotherapy and pluripotent stem cell platform technologies. Asterias is presently focused on advancing three clinical-stage programs which have the potential to address areas of very high unmet medical need in the fields of oncology and neurology. AST-VAC1 (antigen-presenting autologous dendritic cells) demonstrated promise in a Phase 2 study in acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and completed a successful end-of-Phase 2 meeting with the FDA in advance of initiating planning for a single pivotal Phase 3 AML study. AST-VAC2 (antigen-presenting allogeneic dendritic cells) represents a second generation, allogeneic immunotherapy. The company's research partner, Cancer Research UK, plans to begin a Phase 1/2 clinical trial of AST-VAC2 in non-small cell lung cancer in 2017. AST-OPC1 (oligodendrocyte progenitor cells) is currently in a Phase 1/2a dose escalation clinical trial in spinal cord injury. Additional information about Asterias can be found at www.asteriasbiotherapeutics.com.
SOURCE Asterias Biotherapeutics, Inc.