RhinoCyte, Inc.
201 E. Jefferson, Suite 315
Louisville, KY 40202

Mission:

RhinoCyte™, Inc. is a biotechnology company commercializing autologous adult olfactory-derived stem cell therapies to treat spinal cord injury and neurodegenerative disorders such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and Multiple Sclerosis. The core technology involves the biopsy, harvesting, isolation, processing, cryo-preservation and engraftment of adult progenitors into the site of injury. RhinoCyte’s lead therapeutic candidate is an autologous cellular enhancement therapy which provides a biologically active bridge that promotes recovery of spinal cord injury induced neural damage. The company is seeking funds to continue to develop and commercialize the lead product targeted toward Spinal Cord Injuries, specifically submitting an IND, initiating and completing a Phase I trial, hiring a full-time CEO and key management team members as well as pursuing preclinical work on a parallel track to further develop the platform technology.

Director:

Fred J. Roisen, PhD

Background of Director:

Dr. Roisen earned a PhD in the field of cellular physiology from Princeton University in 1969. He rose rapidly through the professorial ranks to Professor and Acting Chair of the Department of Anatomy at Rutgers Medical School. Since 1986, Dr. Roisen has been a Professor and Chair of the Department of Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology at the University of Louisville. He has studied the structure-function relationships in developmental neurobiology including neuroplasticity, neuritogenesis and trophic interactions. In the past 10 years all of his work has been applied to identifying an autologous source of neural progenitor and developing methods for isolating these adult human progenitors for repair of spinal cord injuries and functional deficits caused by other traumas and neurodegenerative diseases. One of his papers in Science demonstrated the nerve promoting potential of gangliosides; work which lead to several important clinical trials. Throughout his career he has had strong research support from the NIH, NSF, MDA and a number of state and private foundations. He has published more than 225 peer reviewed manuscripts and his work has an international reputation. Dr. Roisen has presented work throughout the United States as well as Europe and was the featured guest speaker at the 40th anniversary celebration of Nanjing University Medical School in Nanjing, China. His former students have enjoyed faculty and administrative positions at prestigious institutions including Harvard, Brown, Stanford, Scripps Institute and Washington University in St. Louis.

Major Accomplishments:

Dr. Roisen was the first to demonstrate (1) the signal mechanism for Nerve Growth Factor; (2) that nerve cells contain myosin; and (3) that serum from patients with Lou Gehrig’s disease contained toxic factors that specifically target motor neurons.

Current Projects:

The use of adult olfactory derived progenitors for theraputic purposes in the treatment of: 1. Spinal Cord Injury, 2. Parkinson's disease, 3. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Clinical Trials:

Anticipate Clinical Trials to begin in 2009.

Website: www.rhinocyte.com