BioTime, Inc. (NYSE MKT: BTX) and its subsidiary OrthoCyte Corporation
today announced the appointment of Francois Binette, PhD, as OrthoCyte’s
Vice President of Research and Business Development. Dr. Binette’s
primary focus will be to develop and partner near- and long-term product
opportunities in regenerative medicine with an emphasis on orthopedic
diseases and injuries. OrthoCyte is a wholly owned subsidiary of
BioTime, Inc. that develops cellular therapeutics for orthopedic repair,
diseases, and injuries.
“I am impressed by the robust nature of the novel and diverse
progenitors of skeletal tissues that BioTime has isolated using its ACTCellerateTM
technology,” said Dr. Binette. “The ability to generate scalable and
precisely identified types of cartilage, bone, and tendon, combined with
the HyStem® technology for tissue engineering, gives
us a remarkable platform for manufacturing an array of novel products to
address some of the largest and fastest growing needs in the orthopedic
space. I look forward to building on the science and technology
developed at OrthoCyte to aggressively develop the company’s product
pipeline and pursue partnering opportunities.”
“Francois brings tremendous expertise in regenerative medicine, cell
therapy, biologics, biomaterials, and combination medical devices. He
also has significant business experience in partnering and collaboration
with both start-up and large life science companies,” said Michael D.
West, PhD, BioTime’s Chief Executive Officer. “We welcome Francois to
the OrthoCyte team and look forward to working together with him in
developing commercial product opportunities for the orthopedic repair
market.”
Dr. Binette most recently was the founder of Rediens Inc., a Bay Area
start-up company focused on chronic back pain therapies. Prior to
establishing Rediens, he was Director of Biologics R&D for the Spinal &
Biologics business unit of Medtronic, Inc., and he also served in a
variety of positions with Johnson & Johnson, where he focused on
regenerative medicine therapies for various orthopedic indications,
including cartilage injuries and back pain. Dr. Binette began his
corporate career at Genzyme Tissue Repair, where he helped pioneer
Carticel, the first FDA Biologic License Application-approved cell
therapy product. Dr. Binette received his PhD in Biochemistry at Laval
University in Québec and was a postdoctoral research fellow at the
LaJolla Cancer Research Foundation of the Sanford-Burnham Medical
Research Institute and at MGH/Harvard Medical School. He is currently a
fellow with the International Cartilage Repair Society.
About OrthoCyte Corporation
OrthoCyte Corporation (OrthoCyte), www.orthocyte.com,
a subsidiary of BioTime, Inc., is a biotechnology company developing
cell-based therapies for orthopedic disease. The company's lead product
is OTX-CP07, monoclonal human embryonic progenitor cell lines for the
repair of osteoarthritis. In addition, OrthoCyte has proprietary human
embryonic stem cell-derived progenitors to skeletal muscle, tendon, and
bone, all of which are in the preclinical phase of development.
About BioTime, Inc.
BioTime, headquartered in Alameda, California, is a biotechnology
company focused on regenerative medicine and blood plasma volume
expanders. Its broad platform of stem cell technologies is enhanced
through subsidiaries focused on specific fields of application. BioTime
develops and markets research products in the fields of stem cells and
regenerative medicine, including a wide array of proprietary ACTCellerate™
cell lines, HyStem® hydrogels, culture media, and
differentiation kits. BioTime is developing Renevia™ (formerly
known as HyStem®-Rx), a biocompatible,
implantable hyaluronan and collagen-based matrix for cell delivery in
human clinical applications. BioTime's therapeutic product development
strategy is pursued through subsidiaries that focus on specific organ
systems and related diseases for which there is a high unmet medical
need. BioTime's majority-owned subsidiary Cell Cure Neurosciences Ltd.
is developing therapeutic products derived from stem cells for the
treatment of retinal and neural degenerative diseases. BioTime's
subsidiary OrthoCyte Corporation is developing therapeutic applications
of stem cells to treat orthopedic diseases and injuries. Another
subsidiary, OncoCyte Corporation, focuses on the diagnostic and
therapeutic applications of stem cell technology in cancer, including
the diagnostic product PanC-Dx™ currently being developed for the
detection of cancer in blood samples. ReCyte Therapeutics, Inc. is
developing applications of BioTime's proprietary induced pluripotent
stem cell technology to reverse the developmental aging of human cells
to treat cardiovascular and blood cell diseases. BioTime's subsidiary
LifeMap Sciences, Inc. markets GeneCards®, the leading
human gene database, and is developing an integrated database suite to
complement GeneCards® that will also include the LifeMap™
database of embryonic development, stem cell research and regenerative
medicine, and MalaCards, the human disease database. LifeMap will
also market BioTime research products. BioTime's lead product, Hextend®,
is a blood plasma volume expander manufactured and distributed in the
U.S. by Hospira, Inc. and in South Korea by CJ CheilJedang Corporation
under exclusive licensing agreements. Additional information about
BioTime can be found on the web at www.biotimeinc.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements pertaining to future financial and/or operating results,
future growth in research, technology, clinical development, and
potential opportunities for BioTime and its subsidiaries, along with
other statements about the future expectations, beliefs, goals, plans,
or prospects expressed by management constitute forward-looking
statements. Any statements that are not historical fact (including, but
not limited to statements that contain words such as "will," "believes,"
"plans," "anticipates," "expects," "estimates") should also be
considered to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements
involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, risks
inherent in the development and/or commercialization of potential
products, uncertainty in the ability to identify and complete potential
acquisitions, the ability to realize anticipated benefits of and achieve
expected financial performance following completed acquisitions, the
results of clinical trials or regulatory approvals, need and ability to
obtain future capital, and maintenance of intellectual property rights.
Actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in
these forward-looking statements and as such should be evaluated
together with the many uncertainties that affect the business of BioTime
and its subsidiaries, particularly those mentioned in the cautionary
statements found in BioTime's Securities and Exchange Commission
filings. BioTime disclaims any intent or obligation to update these
forward-looking statements.
To receive ongoing BioTime corporate communications, please click on the
following link to join our email alert list: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=83805&p=irol-alerts
