Longeveron licenses patent for stem cell technology from University of Miami

Longeveron (LGVN) has licensed an issued US patent for a stem cell technology from the University of Miami. The composition of matter patent protects unique induced pluripotent derived cardiomyogenic cells that have widespread therapeutic indications for heart diseases. The stem/precursor cells protected by this patent are obtained by deriving cells that bear a cell surface receptor known as the GHRH-Receptor. These cells are uniquely able to differentiate into human cardiac muscle cells and have the potential to be safer than existing strategies to derive new cardiac heart muscle cells. Developing cardiomyocytes from iPS cells was initially pursued as a potential way to repopulate the myocardium, representing a technology capable of generating an unlimited source of cardiomyocytes and/or cardiac precursors, circumventing ethical dilemmas of using embryonic stem cells, and available from any individual donor. This technology, however, was quickly appreciated to have a substantial side effect, that of causing malignant ventricular arrhythmias after engraftment into mammalian myocardium, and this complication has dramatically slowed the pace of entry into the clinic. The technology of selecting the fraction of GHRHR+ from cardiomyogenic cells circumvents the complication by selecting for cells destined to become only cardiomyocytes and eliminating cells with electrical automaticity, a property found in conduction tissue cells. In so doing, the technology allows for selection for cells that will engraft, contribute new contractile tissue, but will not cause malignant ventricular arrhythmias.