ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--LifeMap Sciences, Inc. (LifeMap), a subsidiary of BioTime, Inc., announced today a commercial partnership agreement with Toldot Genetics, LTD (Toldot), a subsidiary of BATM Advanced Communications, Ltd. LifeMap’s GeneCards Suite, comprised of the company’s integrated biomedical knowledgebase and premium analysis tools, will optimize Toldot’s next generation sequencing (NGS) data analysis capabilities by powering its algorithm-based tools for assigning genetic variations derived from whole genome and exome sequencing, to clinical conditions in order to improve biomedical research. LifeMap will also promote Toldot’s products and offer them to its large user base of life scientists in academia, research hospitals, and biopharma.
“LifeMap Sciences’ extensive integrated biomedical knowledgebase will further expand Toldot’s analysis systems in order to contribute to the ability to get the most of unprecedented quantities of gene-related data derived from NGS experiments,” said Yaron Guan-Golan, Chief Marketing Officer of LifeMap Sciences. “Our partnership with Toldot Genetics reflects the flexibility of our technology to enhance biomedical research and discovery.”
“We believe that combining LifeMap’s comprehensive biomedical knowledgebase and advanced analysis tools with Toldot’s proven ability to extract the most relevant information out of large amounts of sequencing data will create the best NGS analysis package available on the market today,” said Dvir Dahary, CEO of Toldot Genetics. “This partnership will assist in the discovery of novel clinical and scientific insights.”
LifeMap’s’ cloud-based technology offers unlimited access to users who wish to use its integrated biomedical knowledgebase and premium tools VarElect and GeneAnalytics™ for NGS data analysis. The company is also offering partners who are developing and commercializing NGS analysis platforms access to its integrated knowledgebase and tools under various business arrangements.
Both VarElect and GeneAnalytics™ are part of LifeMap Sciences’ recently launched GeneCards Suite Premium Tools. The tools leverage the LifeMap integrated biomedical knowledgebase, which includes GeneCards®, the leading human gene database, MalaCards, the human disease database, and LifeMap Discovery®, the cells and tissues database. LifeMap holds the exclusive worldwide license to market GeneCards, MalaCards, VarElect, GeneAnalytics and GenAlaCart from Yeda Research and Development Company Ltd., the commercial arm of the Weizmann Institute of Science.
About LifeMap Sciences, Inc.
LifeMap Sciences (www.lifemapsc.com) is a life sciences technology company that offers integrated, streamlined solutions that empower life scientists worldwide to conduct cutting edge basic, clinical, and applied biomedical research. LifeMap’s products are used in more than 3,000 institutions including academia, research hospitals, patent offices, and leading biopharma. The company’s primary product offering, the GeneCards Suite, is comprised of an integrated biomedical knowledgebase and premium tools that enable researchers to effectively navigate the universe of human genes, proteins, cells, biological pathways, diseases, and the relationships between them. The knowledgebase includes three key databases that integrate information from over 100 sources: GeneCards®, the leading human gene database, MalaCards, the human disease database, and LifeMap Discovery®, the cells and tissues database. The GeneCards Suite premium tools are a set of biomedical data analysis applications that leverage the GeneCards Suite knowledgebase for gene variant prioritization and RNAseq and microarray gene set analysis to deliver enhanced results, including from the unprecedented quantities of data derived from Next Generation Sequencing (“NGS”). The premium tools include VarElect, the NGS phenotyper, GeneAnalytics™, a novel gene set analysis tool, and GeneALaCart, the GeneCards batch querying application. LifeMap Sciences intends to extend its offerings to the field of mobile health via its subsidiary, LifeMap Solutions, Inc. Operations worldwide are carried out from their offices in California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Tel Aviv and Hong Kong. LifeMap is a subsidiary of BioTime, Inc.
About Toldot Genetics Ltd.
Toldot Genetics (www.toldot-dna.com) improves healthcare through the use of whole genome sequencing, developing and applying sophisticated algorithm-based tools and approaches to assign genetic variations to clinical conditions. Toldot provides geneticists and physicians with a complete analysis package of Exome sequencing data for identifying the causal mutations of rare genetic disorders. Pharma and BioTech companies use Toldot's services in their clinical pipelines, from the design and all the way to deep analysis of their sequencing data, exclusively tailored for the requirements of each project, incorporating gold-standard tools with in-house algorithms and software.
About BATM Ltd.
BATM Advanced Communications Ltd is a leading provider of real-time technologies for networking solutions and medical laboratory systems. It is structured into Telecom and Medical divisions, which comprise several subsidiaries, that design and supply cutting-edge solutions. The focus of the Telecom division is on the growth areas of SDN (Software Driven Networks) and NFV (Network Function Virtualization), and cyber security with its CELARE subsidiary. The Medical division consists of three units: diagnostics, pathogenic waste treatment & sterilization, and distribution – which primarily target small- to mid-size laboratories and hospitals as well as OEM channels.
Headquartered in Hod Hasharon, Israel and Boston, US, BATM has branches in Europe, Latin America and the Far East – with c.700 scientists and engineers worldwide. Both the Telecom and Medical divisions serve a broad base of customers, including many blue chip companies as well as government organizations.
For further information, please visit www.batm.com.
About the Weizmann Institute of Science and GeneCards
The Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, is one of the world's top-ranking multidisciplinary research institutions. Noted for its wide-ranging exploration of the natural and exact sciences, the Institute is home to scientists, postdoctoral fellows, Ph.D. and M.Sc. students, and scientific, technical and administrative staff. In addition, visiting scientists and their families – over 500 from 35 countries are regularly hosted at the Institute. The Institute was founded in 1934 following a donation to Dr. Chaim Weizmann, a noted biochemist and biotechnologist, who envisioned the establishment of a world-class scientific research center in Israel, and later also became the first President of the State of Israel. Weizmann Institute’s Feinberg Graduate School, established in 1958, has 1200 M.Sc. and Ph.D. students enrolled in studies covering the Institute’s five faculties: Biochemistry, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Mathematics and Computer Science. The Institute’s technology transfer arm, Yeda Research and Development Co. was the first company of its kind in Israel, and is currently one of the most successful worldwide. Institute research efforts include the search for new ways of fighting disease and hunger, examining leading questions in mathematics and computer science, probing the physics of matter and the universe, creating novel materials and developing new strategies for protecting the environment. Particular excellence in bioinformatics and systems biology is manifested, among others, in the GeneCards project, initiated in 1996, under the leadership of Prof. Doron Lancet of the Dept. of Molecular Genetics, Head of the Crown Human Genome Center. A team of 10 led by Marilyn Safran continuously innovates and keeps GeneCards as a world-top human gene compendium, automatically mining and integrating 100 worldwide web resources.
About BioTime, Inc.
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. Renevia™ (a HyStem® product), is now in a pivotal trial in Europe as a biocompatible, implantable hyaluronan and collagen-based matrix for cell delivery in the treatment of HIV-related lipoatrophy. 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. OpRegen® is currently in a Phase I/IIa clinical trial for the treatment of the dry-form of age-related macular degeneration.
- 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.
