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Neurona Therapeutics Presents Encouraging Clinical Data from First-Ever Regenerative Human Cell Therapy Trial in Adults with Drug-Resistant Focal Epilepsy and Shows Supporting Manufacturing, Delivery, and Preclinical DataEarly data from the first two patients treated with NRTX-1001 report a trend toward seizure suppression and that administration of the cell treatment has been well-tolerated thus far Pioneering cell therapy approach could provide a disease-modifying treatment for drug-resistant focal epilepsy Presentation at the ISSCR Boston International Symposium: Translating Pluripotent Stem Cell Discoveries to the Clinic: Preclinical, Manufacturing, and Regulatory Strategies for Success SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 21, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Neurona Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotherapeutics company advancing regenerative cell therapies for the treatment of neurological disorders, announced that Cory R. Nicholas, Ph.D., Neurona’s president and chief executive officer, was invited to present an overview of Neurona’s regenerative cell therapy technology, proprietary manufacturing process, cell delivery system, and preclinical data supporting its ongoing Phase I/II clinical trial of NRTX-1001 in people with focal epilepsy at the recent ISSCR Boston International Symposium: Translating Pluripotent Stem Cell Discoveries to the Clinic: Preclinical, Manufacturing, and Regulatory Strategies for Success. In his presentation on Saturday, November 19, 2022, Dr. Nicholas also provided an update on the first two patients treated in the groundbreaking clinical trial (NCT05135091), both of whom entered the study with a history of significant monthly seizure activity that was not controlled by anti-seizure medications. Following treatment with NRTX-1001, both patients have thus far seen encouraging signs of seizure reduction. “The early clinical results with NRTX-1001 in epilepsy are very encouraging, and we look forward to enrolling additional patients in the study,” said Dr. Nicholas. “NRTX-1001 is designed to be an off-the-shelf, one-time administration therapy with the potential to durably eliminate seizures and provide a new regenerative cell therapeutic approach in patients for whom anti-seizure medication has failed. It has the potential to be disease-modifying without the tissue-destructive procedural risks associated with lobectomy. Further, there are many who are not currently eligible for lobectomy surgery who may be eligible for NRTX-1001 in the future. We are sincerely grateful to everyone involved in the development of NRTX-1001, including the first participants in this pioneering study, their families, and the respective clinical site teams.” Dr. Nicholas provided details on the manufacturing and characterization of NRTX-1001, which is an injectable suspension of high-purity inhibitory neurons, called interneurons, derived from human stem cells ad designed to replace damaged neurons in the region of the brain where seizures originate. The cells are manufactured in Neurona’s in-house GMP facility, where its manufacturing personnel use proprietary methods to consistently guide the stem cells into a specific, pallial-type, lineage of interneurons that secrete the inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). NRTX-1001 interneurons are cryopreserved and shipped to clinical sites to be used as an allogeneic, off-the-shelf investigative therapy. Preclinical development of the product and the cell delivery system was also discussed. For clinical administration, NRTX-1001 is delivered using an established MRI-guided procedural approach performed in specialized epilepsy centers. Preclinical characterization of the NRTX-1001 product in epileptic models demonstrates that the administered cells migrate and functionally integrate into the targeted brain region, form connections with existing neurons, persist long-term, and eliminate seizures. In addition to the preclinical efficacy and NRTX-1001 characterization data supporting the clinical program, the presentation highlighted data from the first two adult patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) treated in Neurona’s clinical trial. The first patient had a 9-year history of seizures and in the six months prior to the administration of NRTX-1001, the patient experienced an average of 32 seizures per month, despite being on several antiepileptic medications. The patient received a single administration of NRTX-1001, the treatment was well tolerated, and there have been no serious or severe adverse events associated with the treatment to date. The patient reported four seizures during the first three months since receiving NRTX-1001. The second patient treated in the trial also had drug-resistant seizures, with an average of 14 seizures per month in the six months prior to treatment. This individual received NRTX-1001, returned home as planned the day following treatment and, in the first week post-treatment, had not experienced any serious or severe adverse events, or seizures. The clinical trial is funded in part by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (DISC2-10525; TRAN1-11611; CLIN2-13355). About Neurona’s Clinical Trial of NRTX-1001 for Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (MTLE) About NRTX-1001 About Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy About Neurona Investor and Media Contacts:
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