Cytonus obtains exclusive rights to Medinno’s HIEstem for the North American and MENA markets
SAN DIEGO, USA and SEOUL, KR. — January 9, 2024 Cytonus Therapeutics, Inc.
(“Cytonus”) a biotherapeutic company developing transformative medicines based on next generation drug-delivery platform technology called Cargocytes and Medinno, Inc. (“Medinno”), a clinical-stage regenerative medicine company focusing on neurological diseases, today announced that Cytonus has in licensed the North American and Middle Eastern and North African commercial rights to Medinno’s HIEstem™ to treat Neonatal Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE) and Intraventricular Hemorrhage (IVH).
“Licensing Medinno’s HIEstem provides Cytonus with a clinically validated cell therapy with a potential first-in-class, best-in-class neuroprotective therapeutic against HIE and IVH, two devastating medical conditions with limited therapeutic options.” said Remo Moomiaie-Qajar, M.D., Co-Founder and CEO of Cytonus. “Standard of care for Neonates recently diagnosed with HIE includes hypothermic therapy. Despite this, mortality is reported to be as high as 60% within the first 6 months of life and long-term disabilities are persistent and life altering for most of the children and families. IVH has a worse prognosis, with an expected mortality between 50% to 80%, with current treatments options. These two indications are textbook definitions of unmet medical needs that are very well suited for a stem cell therapeutics.”
“We are looking forward to working together with Cytonus not only to develop HIEstem™ in the USA and MENA for Neonate patients. In addition, the two companies will develop sophisticated regenerative-medicine therapeutics with a convergence of Medinno’s and Cytonus’ state-of-the-art technologies and expertise.” said Kyeungmin Joo, MD, PhD. the Founder and CEO of Medinno.
“We are excited about the in licensing of this powerful therapy that has shown great early results in clinical trials.” commented Cytonus’ executive chairman, Christopher Thorne, JD-MBA, “HIEstem further adds depth to Cytonus’ pipeline and is a synergistic addition to one of our key areas of interest in regenerative medicine.”
About Neonatal Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy
Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a type of brain dysfunction (brain injury) that occurs
when the brain experiences a decrease in oxygen or blood flow. HIE can occur before birth, during labor and delivery or after birth. The amount of time the brain spends without oxygen or blood flow can impact how severely the brain is damaged.
Children who experience mild to moderate effects from HIE can have more severe disability and possible death. Brain injury from HIE can cause developmental delay, cognitive impairment, cerebral palsy or epilepsy. The effects of HIE can become more noticeable as a baby develops. Sometimes, issues are not identified until school-age.
About Neonatal Intraventricular Hemorrhage
Neonatal intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) is a type of brain hemorrhage that affects the premature newborn infant born at less than 33 weeks of gestation. Current treatment and management of IVH is primarily aimed at preventing preterm birth if possible. However, IVH develops in one third of preterm babies.
Moderate and severe forms of IVH may provoke hydrocephalus, excessive fluid in the brain, that needs further surgical management and may cause life-long seizure, cerebral palsy, deafness, blindness, and other serious neuro-developmental delays.
About Medinno
Medinno Inc. is a South Korea-based biopharmaceutical company specializing in stem cell therapeutics for pediatric and adult CNS diseases. The company’s flagship product, HIEstem™, is currently in development for neonate patients facing HIE and IVH, which pose significant life-threatening challenges even with intensive care. Following the successful completion of the Phase 1 Clinical Trial and the attainment of Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) in South Korea, Medinno has also secured Rare Pediatric Disease Designation (RPDD) for HIEstem™ in the United States. The company operates a Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) facility and is
preparing for a global Phase 2 clinical trial for HIEstem™.
For more information, please visit http://medinno.co.kr/.
About Cytonus Therapeutics, Inc.
Cytonus is a San Diego-based biotech company that has developed a vast platform of proprietary immunotherapeutic products to treat a wide range of medical conditions including cancers, infectious diseases, inflammatory diseases, and cognitive disorders, and to improve patient outcomes. Its proprietary Cargocyte™ technologies are next-generation biomolecular delivery devices which have numerous medical applications across unmet therapeutic areas. Cargocytes™ are engineered to safely transport a multiplicity of therapeutic payloads into difficult-to-reach targeted tissues, and can be programmed to deliver selective, potent, and controllable “off-the-
shelf” therapies.
For more information, we invite you to us on LinkedIn and on Twitter “X” at: @CytonusTx.
Contact: press@cytonus.com
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