SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
FORM
8-K
CURRENT
REPORT
Pursuant
to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date
of Report (date of earliest event reported): May
21, 2014
BioTime,
Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
California |
1-12830 |
94-3127919 |
(State or other jurisdiction |
(Commission File Number) |
(IRS Employer Identification No.) |
1301
Harbor Bay Parkway
Alameda,
California 94502
(Address of principal executive offices)
(510)
521-3390
(Registrant's telephone number, including area
code)
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:
⃞
Written
communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR
230.425)
⃞
Soliciting
material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR
240.14a-12)
⃞
Pre-commencement
communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR
240.14d-2(b))
⃞
Pre-commencement
communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR
240.13e-4(c))
Forward-Looking Statements
Any statements that are not historical fact (including, but not limited to statements that contain words such as “may, “will,” “believes,” “plans,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “estimates”) should also be considered to be forward-looking statements. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements are contained in BioTime’s periodic reports filed with the SEC under the heading “Risk Factors” and other filings that BioTime may make with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Undue reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements which speak only as of the date they are made, and the facts and assumptions underlying these statements may change. Except as required by law, BioTime disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
This Report and any accompanying exhibits shall be deemed “furnished” and not “filed” under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
Section 7 - Regulation FD
Item 7.01 - Regulation FD Disclosure
On May 21, 2014, BioTime, Inc. issued the press release furnished as Exhibit 99.1, which is incorporated by reference.
Section 9 - Financial Statements and Exhibits
Item 9.01 - Financial Statements and Exhibits.
Exhibit Number |
Description |
99.1 | Press Release Dated May 21, 2014 |
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to
the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant
has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
BIOTIME, INC. |
||||
Date: |
May 21, 2014 |
By: |
/s/ Michael D. West |
|
|
Chief Executive Officer |
Exhibit Number |
Description |
99.1 |
Press Release Dated May 21, 2014 |
3
Exhibit 99.1
Asterias Biotherapeutics, Inc. Launches New Website: Asteriasbiotherapeutics.com
BioTime, Inc. Subsidiary Acquired Geron Corp’s Therapeutic Stem Cell Assets in Oct. 2013
MENLO PARK, Calif. & ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 21, 2014--Asterias Biotherapeutics, Inc., a subsidiary of BioTime, Inc. (NYSE MKT: BTX) that is developing clinical-stage stem cell therapeutic assets acquired from Geron Corporation, today announced the launch of its new website, www.asteriasbiotherapeutics.com. The website provides information about Asterias, including its core technologies, areas of product development focus, intellectual property portfolio, key publications, SEC filings, and management team.
About Asterias Biotherapeutics
Asterias Biotherapeutics (“Asterias”) is a biotechnology company focused on the emerging field of regenerative medicine. Our core technologies center on stem cells capable of becoming all of the cell types in the human body, a property called pluripotency. We plan to develop therapies based on pluripotent stem cells to treat diseases or injuries in a variety of medical fields, with an initial clinical focus on the therapeutic applications of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (AST-OPC1) and antigen-presenting dendritic cells (AST-VAC1 and AST-VAC2) for the fields of neurology and oncology respectively. AST-OPC1 was tested for treatment of spinal cord injury in the world’s first Phase 1 clinical trial using human embryonic stem cell-derived cells. We plan to reinitiate clinical testing of AST-OPC1 in spinal cord injury this year, and are also evaluating its function in nonclinical models of multiple sclerosis and stroke. AST-VAC1 and AST-VAC2 are dendritic cell-based vaccines designed to immunize cancer patients against telomerase, a protein abnormally expressed in over 95% of human cancer types. AST-VAC2 differs from AST-VAC1 in that the dendritic cells presenting telomerase to the immune system are produced from human embryonic stem cells instead of being derived from human blood.
In October of 2013, Asterias acquired the cell therapy assets of Geron Corporation. These assets included INDs for the clinical stage AST-OPC1 and AST-VAC1 programs, banks of cGMP-manufactured AST-OPC1 drug product, cGMP master and working cell banks of human embryonic stem cells, over 400 patents and patent applications filed worldwide including broad issued claims to fundamental platform technologies for the scalable growth of pluripotent stem cells and compositions of matter for several hESC-derived therapeutic cell types, research cell banks, customized reagents and equipment, and various assets relating to the AST-VAC2 program and preclinical programs in cardiology, orthopedics, and diabetes. Pursuant to the terms of the Asset Contribution Agreement relating to this acquisition, Asterias’ Series A common stock will be distributed to Geron’s shareholders of record as of the record date, which has been set by Geron as May 28, 2014.
Asterias is a member of the BioTime family of companies.
Additional information about Asterias can be found at www.asteriasbiotherapeutics.com.
About BioTime
BioTime is a biotechnology company engaged in research and product development in the field of regenerative medicine. Regenerative medicine refers to therapies based on stem cell technology that are designed to rebuild cell and tissue function lost due to degenerative disease or injury. BioTime’s focus is on pluripotent stem cell technology based on human embryonic stem (“hES”) cells and induced pluripotent stem (“iPS”) cells. hES and iPS cells provide a means of manufacturing every cell type in the human body and therefore show considerable promise for the development of a number of new therapeutic products. BioTime’s therapeutic and research products include a wide array of proprietary PureStem® progenitors, HyStem® hydrogels, culture media, and differentiation kits. BioTime is developing Renevia™ (a HyStem® product) as a biocompatible, implantable hyaluronan and collagen-based matrix for cell delivery in human clinical applications, and is planning to initiate a pivotal clinical trial around Renevia™, in 2014. In addition, BioTime has developed Hextend®, a blood plasma volume expander for use in surgery, emergency trauma treatment and other applications. Hextend® is manufactured and distributed in the U.S. by Hospira, Inc. and in South Korea by CJ HealthCare Corporation, under exclusive licensing agreements.
BioTime is also developing stem cell and other products for research, therapeutic, and diagnostic use through its subsidiaries:
BioTime stock is traded on the NYSE Market exchange, ticker BTX. For more information, please visit www.biotimeinc.com or connect with the company on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, and Google+.
CONTACT:
Asterias Biotherapeutics, Inc.
Mary Ann Dunmire,
650-433-2900
mdunmire@asteriasbio.com
or
BioTime, Inc.
Judith
Segall, 510-521-3390 ext. 301
jsegall@biotimemail.com