Living Cell Technologies Ltd (ASX:LCT) has filed a provisional patent for pericyte (a type of cell) protective agents for neurological disorders including neurodegenerative and central nervous system diseases.
The invention in this provisional patent arises from Living Cell’s research collaboration with the Centre for Brain Research (CBR) at The University of Auckland.
The research collaboration explored how the company’s products can reverse human brain neurodegenerative processes associated with pericytes (and other brain cells).
Living Cell’s lead product, NTCELL®, is an alginate coated capsule containing clusters of neonatal porcine choroid plexus cells.
After implantation, NTCELL functions as a biological factory, producing factors to promote new central nervous system growth and repair disease-induced nerve degeneration.
The company is aiming to extend the pipeline for NTCELL by examining its effects on cell cultures derived from human brains with Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.
The filing of the new patent will enable Living Cell to build and extend its expertise on the efficacy of cell therapies which have the potential to treat neurodegenerative disorders.
Critically, the ability to generate data from human brain tissue cultures can potentially lead the company to identify neuroprotective product candidates.