Advanced Cell expects stem cell eye data

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Biotechnology company Advanced Cell Technology Inc. ACTC.OB plans to publish in the first half of this year data from trials in animals of its stem cell-based therapies for macular degeneration, Chief Executive William Caldwell said on Wednesday.

Macular degeneration is an eye disease that destroys central vision. It is a leading cause of adult blindness and afflicts an estimated 1.2 million Americans.

A line of retinal pigment epithelium, or RPE cells, is the furthest along of three announced lines, Caldwell told the Reuters Biotechnology Summit in Los Angeles. The RPE is the pigment cell layer in the eye that nourishes retinal cells.

Caldwell explained that the retinal cells have advantages as a medical treatment because the eye is an area of the body where immune rejection is not an issue and eye cells proliferate quickly.

Stem cells, taken from human embryos, have the potential to become any type of cell or tissue in the body and are being studied as possible treatments for a range of diseases or injuries.

Advanced Cell is also focused on therapies for heart and skin issues.

The company has been around since the late 1990s, but is only a year old in its current form after undergoing a reverse merger to go public in early 2005.

It has now "rechanneled" its energies to focus on development of stem cell therapies as opposed to pure research, Caldwell said.

Advanced Cell is also pursuing deals with major pharmaceutical companies, the CEO added. "Our objective is to have one major partnership announced this year," he said, declining to give details.  Continued...