ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--LifeMap Sciences, Inc., a subsidiary of BioTime, Inc., announced today the commercial release of GeneAnalytics 1.0 at www.geneanalytics.com. GeneAnalytics™ is a powerful, yet easy to use, gene set analysis tool designed to help life scientists and biomedical researchers identify expression signatures and functionality of their experimental gene sets, and define their roles in various biological processes and in health and disease.
GeneAnalytics™ is powered by LifeMap Sciences’ popular integrated knowledgebase and discovery platform for biomedical research, which includes: GeneCards® (http://www.genecards.org), the human gene database, LifeMap Discovery® (http://discovery.lifemapsc.com), the embryonic development and stem cell database and MalaCards (http://www.malacards.org), the human disease database. LifeMap Sciences holds the exclusive worldwide license to market GeneCards® and MalaCards from Yeda Research and Development Company Ltd., the commercial arm of the Weizmann Institute of Science.
LifeMap Sciences’ Biomedical Knowledgebase enables GeneAnalytics™ to analyze experimental gene sets of interest and match them to expression patterns in various cell types, diseases and pathways and functional groups. It can aid in the discovery of markers for tissues, cells and diseases, investigation of disease mechanisms and in exploration of relationships between compounds and gene networks to enhance drug discovery. It is also a unique tool for characterization of tissue samples and cultured cells, assessment of their purity and analysis of outcomes of cell differentiation experiments.
GeneAnalytics™ is a key component of LifeMap Science’s recently launched premium platform, GeneCards Plus. The platform also includes GeneALaCart (http://genealacart.genecards.org), the GeneCards batch querying application and VarElect (http://varelect.genecards.org), the Next Generation Sequencing phenotyper.
Ronit Shtrichman, Ph.D., Vice President of Biology at LifeMap Sciences said, “We believe that leveraging our extensive information and knowledgebase on biological entities, such as genes, cells, pathways, compounds and diseases, and the connections between these various entities to power gene set analysis by GeneAnalytics will enable it to significantly enhance basic biomedical research, stem cell research and therapeutic discovery.”
“In the few months since we’ve launched the beta version of GeneAnalytics, we’ve had over 1,000 scientists from academia and industry use it in their research,” said Yaron Guan-Golan, Head of Marketing at LifeMap Sciences. “This is evidence that GeneAnalytics is a powerful research aid and we look forward to continuously improve its capabilities and features in upcoming releases, together with GeneALaCart and VarElect, our premium GeneCards Plus research tools.”
About LifeMap Sciences, Inc.
LifeMap Sciences’ (www.lifemapsc.com) core technology and business is based on its Integrated Biomedical Knowledgebase and discovery platform for biomedical research, which currently includes GeneCards®: the leading human gene database; LifeMap Discovery®, the database of embryonic development, stem cell research and regenerative medicine; MalaCards, the human disease database; and GeneAnalytics™, a novel gene set analysis tool which leverages our Integrated Biomedical Knowledgebase. LifeMap’s products are used in more than 3,000 institutions including academia, research hospitals, patent offices, and leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.
LifeMap Sciences intends to continually improve the quality of its products, and is pursuing several new Internet and informatics products with substantial, rapid-revenue growth potential, leveraging its existing products and their large user base of life scientists. LifeMap also intends to extend its offerings to the field of mobile health via its subsidiary LifeMap Solutions, Inc.
About BioTime
BioTime is a biotechnology company engaged in research and product development in the field of regenerative medicine. Regenerative medicine refers to therapies based on stem cell technology that are designed to rebuild cell and tissue function lost due to degenerative disease or injury. BioTime’s focus is on pluripotent stem cell technology based on human embryonic stem (“hES”) cells and induced pluripotent stem (“iPS”) cells. hES and iPS cells provide a means of manufacturing every cell type in the human body and therefore show considerable promise for the development of a number of new therapeutic products. BioTime’s therapeutic and research products include a wide array of proprietary PureStem® progenitors, HyStem® hydrogels, culture media, and differentiation kits. BioTime is developing Renevia™ (a HyStem® product) as a biocompatible, implantable hyaluronan and collagen-based matrix for cell delivery in human clinical applications, and is planning to initiate a pivotal clinical trial around Renevia™, in 2014. In addition, BioTime has developed Hextend®, a blood plasma volume expander for use in surgery, emergency trauma treatment and other applications. Hextend® is manufactured and distributed in the U.S. by Hospira, Inc. and in South Korea by CJ HealthCare Corporation, under exclusive licensing agreements.
BioTime is also developing stem cell and other products for research, therapeutic, and diagnostic use through its subsidiaries:
- Asterias Biotherapeutics, Inc. is developing pluripotent stem-cell based therapies in neurology and oncology, including AST-OPC1 oligodendrocyte progenitor cells in spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis and stroke, and AST-VAC2, an allogeneic dendritic cell-based cancer vaccine.
- BioTime Asia, Ltd., a Hong Kong company, may offer and sell products for research use for BioTime’s ESI BIO Division.
- Cell Cure Neurosciences Ltd. is an Israel-based biotechnology company focused on developing stem cell-based therapies for retinal and neurological disorders, including the development of retinal pigment epithelial cells for the treatment of macular degeneration, and treatments for multiple sclerosis.
- ESI BIO is the research and product marketing division of BioTime, providing stem cell researchers with products and technologies to enable them to translate their work into the clinic, including PureStem® progenitors and HyStem® hydrogels.
- LifeMap Sciences, Inc. markets, sells, and distributes GeneCards®, the leading human gene database, as part of an integrated database suite that also includes the LifeMap Discovery® database of embryonic development, stem cell research, and regenerative medicine, and MalaCards, the human disease database.
- LifeMap Solutions, Inc. is a subsidiary of LifeMap Sciences focused on developing mobile health (mHealth) products.
- OncoCyte Corporation is developing products and technologies to diagnose and treat cancer, including PanC-Dx™, with four clinical studies currently underway.
- OrthoCyte Corporation is developing therapies to treat orthopedic disorders, diseases and injuries.
- ReCyte Therapeutics, Inc. is developing therapies to treat a variety of cardiovascular and related ischemic disorders, as well as products for research using cell reprogramming technology.
Additional information about BioTime can be found on the web at www.biotimeinc.com
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements pertaining to future financial and/or operating results, future growth in research, technology, clinical development, and potential opportunities for BioTime and its subsidiaries, along with other statements about the future expectations, beliefs, goals, plans, or prospects expressed by management constitute forward-looking statements. Any statements that are not historical fact (including, but not limited to statements that contain words such as "will," "believes," "plans," "anticipates," "expects," "estimates") should also be considered to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, risks inherent in the development and/or commercialization of potential products, uncertainty in the results of clinical trials or regulatory approvals, need and ability to obtain future capital, and maintenance of intellectual property rights. Actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements and as such should be evaluated together with the many uncertainties that affect the business of BioTime and its subsidiaries, particularly those mentioned in the cautionary statements found in BioTime's Securities and Exchange Commission filings. BioTime disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
