Stemedica International, SA Wins "Favorit" Entrepreneurship 2016 Award in Switzerland

LAUSANNE, Switzerland - Dec. 19, 2016 - PRLog -- Stemedica International, S.A., a Swiss company that uses its proprietary allogeneic stem-cell therapies for Alzheimer's disease, announces that it has won the coveted Favorit Swiss Entrepreneurship 2016 Award. The event was held at the Beau-Rivage Palace in Lausanne. It was attended by over 250 dignitaries from Switzerland, Europe and Russia.

This award was created by Favorit magazine in 2014 and is granted by a distinguished jury of Swiss and foreign business leaders residing in Switzerland. Favorit, published by Swiss company Editions Mancassola, is the leading publication for the Russian speaking community established in Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

Alexei Lukashev, PhD, General Manager of Stemedica International, was awarded first place in the Favorit Russian Speaking Entrepreneur of the Year Competition.  Dr. Lukashev was born and raised in Moscow and graduated from the Moscow Institute for Physics and Technology, after which he worked as a researcher for the Russian Academy of Sciences with the Nobel Laureate Alexander Prokhorov. In the late nineties, he moved to the United States where he advanced his career in the laser and semiconductor industries as well as expanding his horizons into the field of medical biotechnology heading the Laser Stem Cell Division at Stemedica Cell Technologies, Inc. (San Diego).

Dr. Lukashev's first visit to Switzerland was in 2011, during which he re-connected with his long-term collaborator, Professor Theo Lasser, from his tenure at the Russian Academy of Sciences. He and Professor Lasser of the Laboratory of Biomedical Optics, École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)combined Dr. Lukashev's expertise in stem cells and medical products commercialization and Lasser's experience in biomedical imaging of small animals to start proof-of-concept studies. In 2012, together they secured a Commission for Technology and Innovation (CTI) grant for research on stem cells for Alzheimer's disease in animals as Dr. Lukashev and his colleagues focused Stemedica International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Stemedica (USA), on the use of stem cells to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. The company has since grown to include skilled researchers, business personnel and students interested in the field.

Scientific data from pre-clinical research obtained through the collaboration between EPFL and Stemedica International was so impressive that in 2015, Stemedica Cell Technologies, Inc. applied and received permission from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to initiate a clinical trial titled A Phase IIa Study of Allogeneic Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Subjects with Mild to Moderate Dementia Due to Alzheimer's Disease.  This trial is underway in the U.S. and first patients have been enrolled at the University of California, Irvine.

"Stemedica International is very pleased to receive this prestigious award. We are grateful to the organizers and jury for their recognition of the importance of our work in developing a new approach for this devastating disease," says Dr. Lukashev. "Our Phase IIa clinical trial has begun enrollment and we are hopeful that our stem cell approach may be able to halt or slow down the progression of Alzheimer's disease and, maybe, have some reverse effect on the damage caused by Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia."

More information about this important clinical trial including enrollment details, can be found at https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02833792?term=stemedica&rank=1.

About Stemedica International S.A.

Stemedica International S.A. is a biotechnology company that develops therapeutic applications for the treatment and prevention of Alzheimer's disease. The company is a subsidiary of Stemedica Cell Technologies, Inc., a global biotechnology company that manufactures adult allogeneic stem cells. Stemedica International has the worldwide rights to manufacture and distribute its parent company's allogeneic, ischemia-tolerant mesenchymal stem cell (itMSC) and ischemia-tolerant neural stem cell (itNSC) lines and stem cell factors for Alzheimer's disease. The company also has Swissmedic licenses to import, export and distribute Stemedica Cell Technologies' cell lines worldwide for human use in approved clinical trials. Manufactured in compliance with cGMP standards, the stem cell lines have a unique, proprietary technology based on the expansion of cells in constant hypoxia, which provides critical benefits in terms of safety, efficacy and scalability. For more information, visit www.stemedica-intl.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements.  Forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Accordingly, these forward-looking statements do not constitute guarantees of future performance and you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.  These statements reflect the views of Stemedica as of the date of this press release with respect to future events and, except as required by law, it undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise after the date of this press release.