Neuralstem Inc announced the issuance of U.S. Patent No. 6,284,539 protecting a novel method for generating dopaminergic cells derived from the Company's proprietary neural stem cell technology. Dopamine-producing neurons are of critical clinical significance because it is these cells that progressively lose function in patients with Parkinson's disease.
The patent granted to Neuralstem broadly covers the Company's method for inducing neural stem cells to a dopaminergic fate via the introduction of the Nurr1 gene and its homologs into the cells. The range of potential applications for the technologies protected by this patent include enhanced cell transplantation therapy for Parkinson's and other neurological diseases and disorders, novel screening systems for drug discovery, tools for discovering genes that represent novel targets for therapeutic intervention, direct restoration of function through gene therapy, and new diagnostics for early detection and treatment of Parkinson's and other conditions.
Most directly, the Company's proprietary technologies for increasing the population of dopaminergic cells could be used to augment existing cell transplantation-based therapies to treat neurological disorders in which dopaminergic function is compromised, such as Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's is a chronic, degenerative nervous disease that results from either loss of dopaminergic cells or reduced function of dopamine in the brain. The condition afflicts more than half a million Americans, with more than 50,000 new cases diagnosed each year. Total annual costs for the treatment of Parkinson's disease in the U.S. are estimated to exceed $5.6 billion.
"The discoveries protected by this patent are the first result of our efforts to map gene expression profiles important during various stages of differentiation as well as in various disease states of the human brain," said Garr. "As we continue to advance our unique platform to discover novel and important human brain genes, we anticipate continued expansion of our intellectual property estate covering the generation and use of clinically important neural cell types."