Singapore, Jan 20, 2010: Living Cell Technologies, a cell-based therapeutics maker with operations in New Zealand and Australia, has received a European patent for the use of its product NTCELL in the treatment of degenerative neurological conditions such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis (MS), Huntington's disease and stroke.

LCT's European patent is based on the technology of preparing NTCELL, which are encapsulated porcine cells of the choroid plexus of the brain. The cells release growth factors and neurotrophins, which are a range of agents that protect and maintain the health of brain cells. NTCELL was designed to protect brain cells from disease and injury and to enhance the natural repair mechanisms in the brain. NTCELL has the potential to restore neural cells and tissue, noted the company release.

The porcine choroid plexus cells are encapsulated in a seaweed-derived gel. The encapsulation protects the cells from rejection by the immune system allowing implantation without the need for toxic anti-rejection drugs.

Dr Paul Tan, Chief Executive Officer LCT said, “At a time when we are seeing regulatory approvals in Europe and the US for clinical trials with cell-based therapeutics in neurologic disorders, we can expect NTCELL to add significant value to LCT. The granting of this key patent for NTCELL coincides with the publication of LCT's most recent data on cell therapy for neurological diseases in a leading peer review journal.”

The December 2009 issue of the Journal of Neural Engineering published LCT's paper titled “Encapsulated living choroid plexus cells: potential long-term treatments for central nervous system disease and trauma”, which shows that long-lasting therapeutic implants of NTCELL may be used to treat brain disease. The new experimental data indicates that the choroid plexus cells release neuro-protective agents including antioxidants and growth supporting factors. The implanted cells were still alive when retrieved six months after implantation into the brain in animals.