Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Excitement at VistaGen Therapeutics (VSTA) Continues to Build


A lot of great things have been happening with VistaGen Therapeutics recently. VistaGen is a California-based biotechnology company actively applying its proprietary human pluripotent stem cell technology to launch a new era of drug rescue, predictive heart and liver toxicology, and drug metabolism screening.

VistaGen’s unique stem cell technology-based Human Clinical Trials in a Test Tube™ platform currently involves controlled differentiation (development) of pluripotent stem cells into mature, functional human heart and liver cells that can then be used to predict early in development whether a drug candidate has potential toxicity problems. Determination of potential heart and liver toxicity early on in the development process, far earlier than standard tests, means that drug candidates have a chance of being modified for a successful outcome long before resources are expended on costly and time-consuming animal and human clinical studies. Many otherwise promising drug candidates have been shelved due to heart or liver toxicity issues that surfaced well into the development process and even after FDA approval, representing major losses for drug companies.

By generating new chemical variants of small molecule drug candidates that have shown promise, but are currently on hold due to heart or liver toxicity issues, VistaGen can effectively rescue substantial prior investment by others in discovery and development of the once-promising drugs, building an exclusive and valuable portfolio of proprietary rejuvenated drug candidates. VistaGen plans to have economic participation rights to all of the drug rescue variants it develops, benefitting its bottom line as well as its shareholders. The tremendous promise of this approach has prompted the company’s CEO, Shawn Singh, to purchase 100,000 additional common stock shares of the company, bringing his total holdings to 252,174 shares.

Other recent developments include the company’s formalized membership in the Toronto-based Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine’s (CCRM) Industry Consortium. VistaGen aims to expand the commercial applications of their Human Clinical Trials in a Test Tube™ platform by building multi-party collaborations with CCRM and members of its Industry Consortium around drug rescue and regenerative medicine opportunities, including pilot nonclinical programs involving blood, heart, liver, and potentially pancreatic beta islet cells. Speaking of these opportunities, Shawn Singh emphasized that such collaborations have the potential to “transform medicine and accelerate significant advances in human health and wellness that stem cell technologies and regenerative medicine promise.”

In addition, the company had earlier announced the completion of a $3.25 million financing commitment from its largest institutional investor, Platinum Long Term Growth VII, LLC.

For additional information on VistaGen’s stem cell technology and current initiatives, visit www.VistaGen.com

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