Press Release
Contact Information:
Charles Hartman
P.O. Box 87010
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70879
chartman@stopsicklecell.com
www.stopsicklecell.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: (January 30, 2005)
A
Baton Rouge biotech firm believes it has the technology
that will allow sufferers of Sickle Cell Disease and
Myelodysplastic Syndrome to lead normal lives.
Baton Rouge, LA - A Baton Rouge biotech firm believes
it has the technology that will allow sufferers of
sickle cell disease and myelodysplastic syndrome to
lead normal lives.
Paul Robichaux, founder of Sickle
Cell Therapeutics International, LLC, said his firm
is engaged in research to treat and possibly eliminate
the symptoms of the two diseases through the use of
adult stem cells.
The treatment process uses adult
stem cells from a person’s own body, which are expanded
a thousand times faster than the cells are reproduced
within the body. This expansion of the adult stems
employs technology developed by NASA. Through its
licensor, SCTI has a licensing agreement with NASA
to use this proprietary process, said Robichaux, who
also owns Robichaux Equipment Inc.
For the past 17 years, NASA has
developed the process of expanding cells on numerous
Space Shuttle Flights and the Mir International Space
Laboratory. The process is unique because the cells
form in three-dimensional colonies as they do in a
human body and maintain their cell-to-cell geometry.
Sickle cell disease is a painful genetic disorder
that obstructs normal blood flow, limiting critical
oxygen delivery to tissues. Myelodysplastic syndrome
is a disorder in which the bone marrow does not produce
enough blood cells, and, like sickle cell disease,
there is no known cure. Once diagnosed, life expectancy
for those suffering from myelodysplastic is two to
10 years.
Jack Rome Jr., chairman of SCTI
board of directors, said, “When the science involved
is proven and taken to the market, it will make a
significant difference in the lives of many, many
people around the world.”
“This has without a doubt been one
of the most exciting projects I have worked on in
my 30-year career,” said Rome, chairman and president
of Jack Rome Jr. and Associates, a Baton Rouge professional
management consulting firm that has developed a master
plan to move SCTI’s scientific research forward.
Other members of the board are Robichaux, Howard
F. Jeter, former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Deputy
Assistant Secretary for West African Affairs, and
the President’s special envoy to Liberia; Dr. Ernest
Simo, the CEO and founder of Space2000 and two-time
NASA Astronaut Program finalist.; recently retired
Gen. Buford Blount , who was commanding general of
the 3rd Infantry Division during Iraqi Freedom and
the U. S. Army’s assistant deputy chief of staff for
operations.
Heading the medical advisory board is Dr. Mehboob
Hussain, a research associate and assistant professor
of endocrinology at the University of Chicago, division
of biological sciences’ department of medicine. Dr.
Hussain received his medical degree from the University
of Zurich and completed a fellowship at Harvard Medical
School and Massachusetts General Hospital.
Currently, SCTI plans to provide
a grant to a university capable of conducting specific
research necessary for SCTI’s technology. The company
will be seeking to raise funds from public and private
entities over the next four years to fund this research
and develop therapies.
Once funded, SCTI plans to hire
a chief scientist to manage all research and development
of technology. The company’s goal is to begin research
within a major university by the end of the first
quarter of 2005.
What is Sickle Cell Anaemia?
