AgeX Therapeutics, Inc. (NYSE American: AGE) announced today the publication of data relating to its cell therapy product candidate AgeX-BAT1 for Type II diabetes and obesity in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Stem Cell Research & Therapy. Scientists now realize that the activity of brown adipose tissue (BAT), also known as “brown” or “good” fat, is markedly lost with age. This loss may contribute to metabolic disturbances seen in Type II diabetes and obesity as well as a heightened cardiovascular risk. AgeX-BAT1 is comprised of regenerative cells capable of becoming BAT and is intended to return BAT levels back to those found in young adults. AgeX is targeting Type II diabetes and obesity as they are areas of high unmet medical need and present multi-billion-dollar market opportunities.
As described in the paper, “Clonal Derivation of White and Brown Adipocyte Progenitor Cell Lines from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells,” two AgeX-BAT1 cell lines, designated NP88 and NP110, were selected for detailed characterization. The data demonstrate AgeX’s PureStem®cell therapy manufacturing platform was successful in generating highly purified cells with precise anatomical identity, and most importantly, capable of potently expressing definitive markers of BAT cells, including active adipokines such as adiponectin. Adiponectin is reported to have beneficial effects in patients with age-related metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. In addition, the paper provides evidence that AgeX’s PureStem® technology allows for the reliable re-derivation of scalable lots of desired cells.
“In keeping with AgeX’s mandate to use regenerative biology to reverse the degenerative aspects of aging, AgeX-BAT1 will address one of the insidious age-related metabolic imbalances responsible for age-related weight gain as well as other serious age-related conditions such as Type II diabetes and its ensuing cardiovascular risk,” said Michael D. West, Ph.D., Founder and CEO of AgeX, and lead author of the published study. “It is estimated that 30 million U.S. adults have diabetes, the overwhelming majority of the cases being Type II, and that number is rapidly on the rise as a result of the aging demographic. AgeX-BAT1 could potentially provide an important and novel therapeutic strategy for managing the epidemic of metabolic imbalances such as Type II diabetes in aging.”
“Few medical conditions are as prevalent as age-related metabolic imbalances, which carry along with them serious risks, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, blindness, amputations, and cancer,” said Dr. Annalisa Jenkins, M.B.B.S., F.R.C.P., a member of the AgeX Board of Directors. “Whilst dieting and exercise are beneficial, most people find them difficult to adhere to. To meet this high unmet medical need, we need new approaches, such as AgeX-BAT1.”
Dr. West will discuss the paper as part of his presentation at Biotech Showcase, being held concurrently with the 2019 J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco. Details of Dr. West’s presentation follow:
Date: Wednesday, January 9
Time: 9:00AM PST
Track: Yosemite-A (Ballroom Level)
Venue: Hilton San Francisco Union Square, 333 O’Farrell Street, San Francisco, Calif.
Time: 9:00AM PST
Track: Yosemite-A (Ballroom Level)
Venue: Hilton San Francisco Union Square, 333 O’Farrell Street, San Francisco, Calif.
Authors on the paper are Michael West, Dana Larocca, Jie Li, Jianjie Jiang, Pamela Sim, Ivan Labat, and Hal Sternberg of AgeX; Ching-Fang Chang and Andreas Stahl of the University of California, Berkeley; Karen B. Chapman of Johns Hopkins University; Kari E. Wong of Metabolon, Inc.; James Nicoll and Michael J. Van Kanegan of Zen-BIO, Inc.; Aubrey de Grey of AgeX and the SENS Research Foundation; and Igor Nasonkin of BioTime, Inc.
The paper is available online, and additional information on AgeX-BAT1, including an introductory video, is available on AgeX’s website at www.agexinc.com.
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