Furthermore, U.S. BioDefense, Inc. has been granted an extension of six months on the option to license world patent application WO 03/054202 A1 and US patient application 5,958,767 entitled "Generation of Human Neural Crest Stem Cell Line and Its Utilization in Human Transplantation" and related applications with the University of British Columbia. U.S. BioDefense will release more detailed information about the neural crest stem cell technology and potential applications, including gene therapy, immediately after finalizing its evaluation and successful exercise of its option agreement.

Director of Research, Dr. Cyndi Chen, Ph.D. stated "This is exciting news for us and the medical community. This is the first step that will eventually allow us to pursue neural stem cell therapies and treatments for a number of degenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease and Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The neural crest stem cells will be beneficial to the research and medical community as well as patients."

CEO David Chin stated that, "We are pleased to announce to shareholders that the company has received the neural crest stem cells that may prove useful for brain and spinal cord repair. Currently, the existence of immature multi-potent stem cells has been identified in the embryonic and adult human brain and several groups have generated stable, perpetual neural stem cell lines that were utilized for cell replacement or gene transfer therapies in animal models of human neurological disorders. To this end, we are to evaluate a way to generate permanent cell lines of human neural crest stem cells with the ability to proliferate, exhibit self-renewal, generate a large number of clonally related progeny, retain their multi-lineage potential over time, and produce new cells in response to injury or disease."

Source U.S. BioDefense