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January 17th, 2003
DeveloGen and Scientists from IPK Gatersleben Publish Data on Key Trigger for Regenerating Insulin Producing Cells
-- Study Provides Additional Support in Fight to Treat Diabetes --
Göttingen, Germany, January 17, 2003 ; DeveloGen AG announced today the publication of important new diabetes data in the current early edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study demonstrates the ability to normalize blood glucose levels in mice using insulin-secreting cells generated in a procedure driven by the islet developmental control gene Pax4. As an important regulator of islet cell development, Pax4 represents a key component in DeveloGen?s novel approaches to the treatment of diabetes.
"DeveloGen is pioneering new ways to enable diabetic patients to regain control of their disease by providing them with the ability to regenerate insulin producing cells." stated Dr. Günther Karmann, CEO of DeveloGen. "We are currently focusing on the development of autologous cell transplantation and small molecule drug strategies which both include target components of the Pax4 pathway."
"I am very pleased with the results of this study as they support our previous findings showing that Pax4 is a key regulator of islet cell development." stated Prof. Peter Gruss, President of the Max Planck Society and scientific co-founder of DeveloGen. "This study also nicely complements our current work showing the regenerative potential of Pax4 in mice."
Researchers at the stem cell group of Dr. Anna Wobus at the Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Gatersleben, and of DeveloGen, Göttingen, both Germany, showed that constitutive expression of Pax4 in mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells in the context of a complex differentiation procedure is able to significantly improve ES cell differentiation into insulin-producing cells in vitro. The study also showed that these Pax4-differentiated ES cells are able to respond to a glucose challenge by secreting insulin and, when transplanted, normalize blood glucose levels in diabetic mice.
The study, entitled: "Expression of Pax4 in Embryonic Stem Cells Promotes Differentiation of Nestin-positive Progenitor and Insulin Cells", was authored by Przemyslaw Blysczuk, Jaroslaw Czyz, Gabriela Kania, Martin Wagner, Ursula Roll, Luc St-Onge and Anna M. Wobus. The article was published in PNAS on January 13, 2003, and is available on the internet (10.1073/pnas.0237371100): http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/0237371100v1?etoc.
-- Ends --
DeveloGen's Diabetes Programs
The diabetes therapy programs being developed at DeveloGen incorporate elements of the Pax4 pathway to enable regeneration of insulin producing beta cells from adult stem or progenitor cells, drive the differentiation into beta cells ex vivo and then transplanting the cells back into the patient. A small molecule program is also being conducted to find suitable targets in the Pax4 pathway which, when triggered, drive cells to become beta cells.
DeveloGen AG
DeveloGen is a drug discovery company developing novel therapies for metabolic diseases, such as obesity and diabetes, based on extensive experience using model organisms and elucidating mechanisms involved in stem cell differentiation. By starting with metabolic phenotype, the company's model organism screens are more rapid and disease relevant than conventional functional genomics methods. The second component of DeveloGen's platform is focused on harnessing key developmental control genes involved in stem cell differentiation and tissue regeneration. DeveloGen was founded in December 1997 and currently has over 100 employees in Göttingen, Germany. For more information, please visit www.develogen.com.
Contacts:
DeveloGen AG
Susanna Braus-Stromeyer, Ph.D.
Public and Investor Relations
Phone: ++49 (0) 551-50 558 0
Fax: ++49 (0) 551-50 558 586
E-mail: PublicRelations@develogen.com
Burns McClellan
Mike Sinclair or Yvonne Alexander
Public and Investor Relations
Phone: ++44 (0) 20 7534 1520
Fax: ++44 (0) 20 7534 1555
E-mail: yalexander@burnsmc.co.uk
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