ProTrans cell therapy to be granted patent protection beyond Europe

NextCell Pharma AB ("NextCell" or the "Company") today announces that the Japan Patent Office (JPO) has issued a notice of allowance relating to the patent entitled "Allogeneic Composition" (publication number JP2020543858A). The patent describes the method of manufacturing the drug candidate ProTrans, where the selection algorithm is key for selecting optimal cells and donors.  Patent protection is valid until 2039.

The selection algorithm consists of a method for selecting cells with a suitable immunomodulatory effect that are assessed by a panel of different analyses. The algorithm makes an overall assessment of several functional analyses to identify optimal donors and cells for the manufacture of cell therapies. NextCell's accurate and advanced selection method has a scalable capability and guarantees high reproducibility and efficacy compared to other applications in cell therapy. The careful selection method results in consistently high-quality cells and hence a strong safety profile with few side effects.

"Japan is leading the cell therapy and stem cells field, thus protection in this region is important." says CEO Mathias Svahn.

ProTrans is NextCell's first drug candidate based on the selection algorithm. It is an allogeneic cell therapy which means that donated cells, not the patient's own, are used.  The cells are extracted from donated umbilical cord tissue and the cells are then multiplied to generate large amounts of cells.

Clinical trials in type-1 diabetes have shown promising results for ProTrans to stop the course of the disease for 1 year in adult patients, potentially longer. Ongoing trials are now evaluating efficacy in adolescents and children newly diagnosed with type-1 diabetes. In addition, clinical trials are ongoing with patients with severe pneumonia due to COVID-19 infection, in Sweden and Canada.

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For more information about NextCell Pharma, please contact
Mathias Svahn, CEO
Patrik Fagerholm, CFO
Tel: +46 8 735 5595
E-mail: info@nextcellpharma.com

Websites:
NextCell Pharma AB: www.nextcellpharma.com
Cellaviva Sverige: www.cellaviva.se
Cellaviva Danmark: www.cellaviva.dk

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/15255207/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NextCellPharma

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Certified Adviser
FNCA Sweden AB is assigned as Certified Adviser, 08-528 00 399, info@fnca.se.

About NextCell Pharma AB
NextCell is a phase II cell therapy company with the drug candidate ProTrans for the treatment of type 1 diabetes. The focus is to take ProTrans to market approval via a Phase III study. ProTrans is in addition to diabetes, used in two clinical trials for Covid-19, in Örebro and Montreal (Canada). The company is in the processes of establishing its own GMP facility for production of ProTrans. The GMP facility is expected to be ready for production of smaller quantities of ProTrans in 2023. NextCell furthermore owns 10% in FamicordTX, a CAR-T start-up in oncology and 100 % of Cellaviva, Scandinavia's largest stem cell bank for family saving stem cells from umbilical cord blood and umbilical cord tissue with permission from the Swedish Health and Social Care Inspectorate (IVO).

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