Asterias signs agreement with Cell Therapy Catapult; will establish in UK

UK organization the Cell Therapy Catapult has signed an agreement with Asterias Biotherapeutics, a subsidiary of BioTime Inc (NYSE MKT: BTX), engaging the Cell Therapy Catapult in advancing development of an Asterias product.

As part of the agreement, Asterias will open a UK subsidiary and employ staff in the UK. The Cell Therapy Catapult will advance development of a large-scale manufacturing process for AST-VAC2, an allogeneic dendritic cell immunotherapy. It will streamline and scale manufacturing processes for the drug and its forthcoming Phase II clinical trial targeting lung cancer. AST-VAC2 is a cancer vaccine designed to stimulate patient immune responses to telomerase, expressed in over 95% of human cancers but rarely expressed in normal adult cells.

The UK subsidiary that Asterias will establish as part of the collaboration will provide the company to effectively collaborate with Cell Therapy Catapult and other partners in the country.