PrimeCell™ - An Adult-derived Pluripotent Stem Cell

Our premier platform technology, PrimeCell™, overcomes the challenges presented by both adult and embryonic stem cells and possesses the highest genetic integrity of any other somatic or stem cell type.  We believe PrimeCell™ will provide the most therapeutically beneficial results in cellular replacement therapies.  PrimeCell™ is a platform technology from which virtually any cell line can be derived.  We are developing several proprietary cell lines including CardioCell™ for the regeneration of heart muscle, ChondroCell™ for the regeneration of cartilage, OsteoCell™ for regeneration of bone, IsletCell™ for replenishing pancreatic islet cells, DermoCell™ for the regeneration of skin and NervoCell™ for the regeneration of neural and spinal cord tissues.

PrimeGen’s broad intellectual property portfolio is founded on groundbreaking platform technologies invented by our team of dedicated and visionary scientists.

Introduction

Stem Cell Therapy Hurdles

PrimeGen Biotech believes that starting with optimal stem cells leads to the development of the most effective cellular replacement therapies.

Adult Stem Cells (ASCs)

Adult stem cells represent several populations of stem cells derived from post-natal sources.  While ASCs are a promising therapeutic, they have inherent limitations.  Adult stem cells are subjected to the natural process of aging; because of this, they incur damage at the DNA, mitochondrial and ribosomal level.  ASCs are also exposed to the ravages of free radical damage and chronic disease.  As a result, ASCs typically generate lower quality replacement cells that inherit the parent cell’s impaired genome.  Also, as ASCs age, they lose their ability to differentiate to every cell type.

The method of transplanting ASCs from a younger healthy donor to another patient (allogeneic transplantation) reduces the damaging effects of age but carries a significant risk of immune rejection, a potentially life-threatening side effect.

Embryonic Stem Cells (ESCs)

Embryonic stem cells promise young, healthy and pluripotent cells for transplantation.  Unfortunately unsolved technical hurdles, including effectively directing differentiation, managing malignant transformation, free radical, ribosomal and mitochondrial damage, immune rejection, regulatory hurdles and overcoming feeder cell contamination, hinder their development for therapeutic purposes.  Embryonic stem cells are also burdened with political and ethical hurdles, which currently slow their clinical development.

The PrimeCell™ Solution

PrimeGen's PrimeCell™ technology produces a pluripotent adult stem cell with the highest genetic integrity available.  PrimeCell™ suffers no damage from aging, chronic disease or injury.  It is also shielded from free radical, ribosomal and mitochondrial damage.  Precursor PrimeCells™ are isolated from the most protected stem cell niche in the body, and therefore retain the most conserved, highest quality DNA generated by an organism.  Following a therapeutic reprogramming step, the cell also becomes pluripotent, having the capacity to form tissues from all three germ layers: a PrimeCell™.

The Technology

PrimeCell™ engineering includes a two-step process.

Initially PrimeCells™ are isolated as germ-line stem cells, which intrinsically have the ability to differentiate only into the germ cells: sperm and eggs.  PrimeGen chose the germ-line stem cell because of this cell’s unique genetic integrity.  The genomic quality of germ-line stem cells is superior to every other cell within the body because of the necessity to preserve the genome of the cell, which will ultimately form new offspring.  If germ-line stem cells were subject to the same aging process as all other cells within the body, parents would produce offspring with aged genetic material.

Germ-line stem cells must then undergo PrimeGen's proprietary therapeutic reprogramming process where the single-fated cell is matured to a state of pluripotency.  The resulting fully optimized stem cell is now a PrimeCell™ and can be directed to differentiate to virtually any therapeutic cell type, which will also inherit the PrimeCell™ pristine genome.

PrimeCell™ fulfills the promise of stem cell therapy by offering a truly pluripotent adult stem cell, free from the detrimental effects of aging, disease and therapeutic cloning.  Cell lines derived from PrimeCell™ also possess the highest quality cellular components to constitute virtually any needed cell type.

Therapeutic Applications

Because PrimeCell™ is a pluripotent cell, it can be differentiated to potentially any therapeutic cell type.  Disease and injury applications of PrimeCell™ include Alzheimer’s Disease, Cardiac Disease, Diabetes, Lupus, Multiple Sclerosis, Leukemia, Muscular Dystrophy, Parkinson’s Disease, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Spinal Cord Injury, Autoimmune Disease, Stroke, Skin Regeneration and Wound Healing.  The extent to which stem cells can be used to treat injury and illness has yet to be fully evaluated and PrimeGen is dedicated to providing the most therapeutically valuable cell for each application to impart the most beneficial results.

Development

PrimeGen Biotech has successfully completed the Proof of Concept for PrimeCell™ utilizing small animal models and has successfully reproduced these results with human cells.  PrimeGen Biotech will be gearing up for pre-clinical studies to generate the data required for selecting the most promising therapeutic candidate for initiation of Phase I Clinical Trials.

To further optimize modes of delivery, PrimeGen Biotech will evaluate strategic partnerships with corporate partners in the medical devices industry.

PrimeGen Biotech will also evaluate partnering with pharmaceutical companies to initiate drug-screening models utilizing PrimeCell™.

Please contact us directly regarding the licensing or transfer of our cell lines.