BrainStorm and Octane Biotech Announce Success in Cocoon Application Development Based on Customized Bioreactor for NurOwn® Stem Cells

BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc.

, a leading developer of adult stem cell technologies for neurodegenerative diseases, and Octane Biotech Inc., a Canadian company that focuses on clinical systems for cell and tissue therapy, announced today that they have made significant progress toward the development of a novel bioreactor for industrial-scale manufacture of BrainStorm's NurOwn® neurotrophic-factor secreting mesenchymal stem cells. The companies have completed key development activities related to the customization of specific features of Octane's Cocoon™ instrumentation platform to enable efficient delivery of BrainStorm's NurOwn® stem cell therapy. The collaborative program has generated a NurOwn® therapy-specific cassette that is employed as a disposable cartridge within the standard Cocoon™ platform, along with a dedicated software program to deliver and track the NurOwn® process. The project is supported by a grant awarded by the Canada-Israel Industrial Research and Development Foundation (CIIRDF). Octane's Cocoon cell therapy system integrates upstream and downstream processing including cell source isolation and cell expansion, cell collection, cell washing and final product formation, in a closed, single-use disposable cassette. By integrating multiple steps in combination with biosensor feedback, this highly innovative technology, unlike other bioreactor systems, is expected to permit substantial upscaling of patient-scale cell manufacturing capabilities, allowing streamlined production of cell therapies under GMP conditions. With the Cocoon system available as a routine evaluation platform, the teams at BrainStorm and Octane are now working to further refine development of the cassettes that will be used in the automated bioreactors to manufacture NurOwn® stem cells. "The development of an advanced, scalable and automated system for the manufacture of NurOwn® for commercial supply is important goal for BrainStorm," stated Chaim Lebovits, CEO of BrainStorm. "The progress we have made, by leveraging Octane's Cocoon system, moves us one step closer to our ultimate goal of providing patients and physicians with an improved standard of care for treating neurodegenerative diseases." Dr. Timothy Smith, CEO of Octane Biotech further commented, "The Octane Cocoon platform was designed to automate the complex production sequences in autologous cell manufacturing. Our customization of the Cocoon cassette to incorporate BrainStorm's proprietary NurOwn® technology is a perfect example of how we closely interact with our corporate clients and partners. We are pleased to be working with BrainStorm, and look forward to helping advance their important work." Octane Biotech has partnerships with a number of leading healthcare companies and academic centers. The Cocoon technology is currently being evaluated in a partnership with Lonza Group Ltd. with the goal of developing the platform for a wide range of autologous and matched-allogenic cell therapy products. About BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc.