VistaGen Therapeutics has received a notice of allowance for a stem cell production patent, which the firm says could be used in autoimmune disorder and cancer treatments.

The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued VistaStem a subsidiary of VistaGen the notice for patent no. 14/359,517, which covers methods for producing hematopoietic precursor stem cells usually found in red blood marrow.

These are stem cells that give rise to all of the blood cells and most of the bone marrow cells in the body, with potential to impact both direct and supportive therapy for autoimmune disorders and cancer, said VistaGen VP Mark McPartland.

With CAR-T cell applications and foundational technology, McPartland said he believed the technology will provide approaches for producing bone marrow stem cells for bone marrow transfusions.

Business opportunities

In December last year, VistaGen signed an exclusive sublicense agreement with stem cell research firm BlueRock Therapeutics, under which the latter paid VistaGen $1.25m (1.06m) upfront for its cardiac stem cell production technologies.

McPartland said he expects this recent notice of allowance to also create potential opportunities for additional regenerative medicine transactions.

IP portfolio growth

VistaGen told us it plans to secure IP protection in multiple domains and international jurisdictions.

We intend to grow our IP portfolio in a manner that emphasises platform protection and maximises opportunities for commercialisation and out-licensing, McPartland said.

View post:
VistaGen's cell production methods receive US patent boost - BioPharma-Reporter.com