Celavie Biosciences Names Noted Neuroscientist Oleg Kopyov, MD, PhD Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer
Kopyov will play instrumental role in R&D of stem cell technology for neurodegenerative disease applications
OXNARD, Calif., November 28, 2006—Celavie Biosciences LLC named Oleg Kopyov, MD, PhD Chief Scientific Officer and Executive Vice President to lead a team working to advance regenerative medicine beyond mainstream stem cell technology. Dr. Kopyov has been researching treatments and technologies now under development at Celavie for over 25 years. He has served as Director of Research for the California Neuroscience Institute at St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Los Angeles.
“Dr. Kopyov’s many decades of research and development of neurosurgical treatments for brain diseases has been instrumental in the invention of this technology,” says CEO and President Sandy Solmon. “He has worked on developing new neurosurgical treatments for Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, epilepsy, and spinal cord trauma. It was his observation of the nature of cell regeneration in patients that led to the foundational theory behind our stem cell technology.”
Dr. Kopyov’s hypotheses originated with the theory that undifferentiated stem cells are able to react to the micro-environment into which they are injected and mature into multiple cell types dictated by their new surroundings. Unlike commonly used pre-differentiated cell, this would allow the undifferentiated cells to address diseases with complex, multifactorial deficiencies in their entirety.
“I am excited to see where Celavie can take this technology,” said Kopyov. “The unmet medical needs for these neurological conditions are significant as these diseases result in loss of basic function or mortality. Global demand for regenerative medicine is growing, and we are observing promising results with our R&D.”
Celavie’s team of scientists is positioned to accelerate development in Parkinson’s disease and expand other promising programs. Using the latest technological breakthroughs, Celavie produces large banks of undifferentiated cells with uniform qualities utilizing closed-system bioreactors. The cells are grown in a specialized patented medium that allows the cells to maintain their sterility and genetic stability over the course of the manufacturing process.
“Too often, a host of obstacles keep great advancements from reaching their potential,” said Solmon. “For that reason, we are building a world-class team of experts with the experience needed to develop new medical technologies and who share a commitment to relieving suffering worldwide.”
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