
HepaLife™ Announces Expansion of Exclusive License Agreement
with U.S. Government Agency for Liver Cell Line
HepaLife’s expanded agreement with US Department of
Agriculture allows for use of patented PICM-19 liver stem cell
line as a malaria infection host system, in addition to artificial
liver devices and in-vitro toxicological testing platforms.
Boston, MA – October 1st, 2008 – HepaLife
Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB: HPLF)
(FWB: HL1) (WKN: 500625) today announced that the Company has entered
into an amendment of its worldwide, exclusive license agreement with
the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service
(USDA, ARS) for expanded use of the patented PICM-19 liver cell lines.
The new agreement allows the Company to make use of the PICM-19 liver
stem cells in artificial liver devices, in-vitro toxicological testing
platforms, and the expanded field of use, “in-vitro infection
host systems” for viral and protozoan agents such as malaria.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, each year 350–500
million cases of malaria occur worldwide, and over one million people
die, most of them young children in sub-Saharan Africa. There is
no effective vaccine to date.
The in-vitro infection host systems included in HepaLife’s
expanded license agreement provide scientists with a cell-based technology
to research and develop vaccines for infectious viruses and single-celled
parasites (protozoan agents) such as Plasmodium falciparum, a species
that causes malaria in humans. This specific infection is the most
dangerous with the highest rates of complications and mortality,
accounting for 80% of all human malaria infections and 90% of deaths.
The terms of the agreement cover specific patents and the PICM-19
hepatocyte cell lines. Financial details were not disclosed.
ABOUT HEPALIFE TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
Based in Boston, Massachusetts, HepaLife Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB: HPLF
- News) (FWB: HL1) (WKN: 500625) is a developer of cell-based
medical technologies addressing prevalent human health concerns.
Any statements contained in this press release regarding our ongoing
research and development and the results attained by us to-date have
not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
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