Tissera, Inc. (OTCBB:TSSR - News) reports that an article entitled "Embryonic Pig Liver, Pancreas and Lung as a Source for Transplantation: Optimal Organogenesis without Teratoma Depends on Distinct Time Windows", authored by Prof. Yair Reisner, Director of Tissera's sponsored research, and his team at the Weizmann Institute of Science, has been found worthy of being published in the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), and has appeared in its February 14th online edition. Furthermore, the article has been flagged by the PNAS for press interest, and, consequently, a synopsis of the article (following below) has been edited by the PNAS, to be distributed to journalists via e-mail and posted on online news service sites.

The study appears in the online edition of PNAS, and may be obtained in PDF from the PNAS website, www.pnas.org .

The research referred by the article has been performed as part of Tissera's Research and Development plan, drawn on the premises that ways might be found to utilize various porcine fetal tissues for transplantation into human patients in need. The Company's R&D efforts are directed towards the accomplishment of its mission to develop and commercialize such a transplantation technology, thus providing a universally available and reliable source of donor organs to those so many patients awaiting organ transplantation, who currently suffer from the severe shortage of donor organs. The research results featuring in the article mark the achievement of important milestones in the implementation of the Company's technology development plan and mission.

The publication of the study in the PNAS is a much significant recognition, by an internationally renowned and respected academic authority, of the cutting-edge scientific value of the work being performed by the Company-sponsored research team at the Weizmann Institute of Science, under the leadership of Prof. Reisner.

In keeping with Tissera's working plan, the research is now moving forward to its next stage, involving, among other applications, the implementation in large animal models of the Company's approach to the therapy of Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus.

PNAS Synopsis

Growing Human Organs From Embryonic Pig Cells

Growing new organs in humans from embryonic pig tissues may be feasible, researchers report, but the cells need to come from specific stages of an embryo’s development. Using pig tissue to replace human organs could help patients with diseases such as diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and liver failure, but researchers have so far faced a challenge of balance. On the one hand, stem cells taken from very early in an embryo’s development tend to develop tumors after transplantation, whereas tissue from adult organs face rejection by the recipient’s immune system. Taking cells from an embryonic organ soon after it has begun to form may strike the ideal balance. To investigate the best time to harvest embryonic cells, Yair Reisner and colleagues took embryonic pig tissue that had begun to form particular organs at various developmental stages and transplanted them into mice. The researchers studied three types of organs—liver, pancreas, and lung—and found unique growth patterns. Optimal time windows were clearly seen for each organ. The authors say these findings may help in part to explain the failure of previous transplantation trials of pancreatic islets in diabetic patients.

Article #05-00177: "Embryonic pig liver, pancreas and lung as a source for transplantation: optimal organogenesis without teratoma depends on distinct time windows" by Smadar Eventov-Friedman, Helena Katchman, Elias Shezen, Anna Aronovich, Dalit Tchorsh, Benjamin Dekel, Enrique Freud, and Yair Reisner 

About Tissera

Tissera is a biotechnology company dedicated to the development of novel tissue precursor regeneration technologies for treating gene deficiencies and diseases in which organ transplantation is necessary, while minimizing the dosage of immunosuppressive drugs. Tissera obtained the license for the worldwide exclusive rights to the technology developed by Professor Yair Reisner and his team at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. In this research, scientists successfully implanted in mice embryonic human and porcine organ precursor tissues, which grew into functional organs. This research was published in Nature Medicine and attracted worldwide scientific and media attention.

About PNAS(Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America)

PNAS is one of the world's most-cited multidisciplinary scientific serials. Since its establishment in 1914, it continues to publish cutting-edge research reports, commentaries, reviews, perspectives, colloquium papers, and actions of the Academy. Coverage in PNAS spans the biological, physical, and social sciences. PNAS is published weekly in print, and daily online in PNAS Early Edition. www.pnas.org

Safe Harbor Statement

"Statements in this document that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this release include statements regarding our developing technology into a useful product, our moving forward with our plans for trials, and our plans to expand the Company's infrastructure. Actual outcomes and our actual results could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Such statements, including statements regarding freedom to operate, patentability, infringement, clinical trials, involve significant risks and uncertainties and actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied herein. Factors that could cause such differences include, but are not limited to, risks associated with new product development (including clinical trials outcome and regulatory requirements/actions), competitive risks to marketed products and availability of financing that could cause actual results to differ materially include risks and uncertainties such as the inability to further finance our plans and unforeseen technical difficulties in developing our technology, which could among other things, delay or prevent product development and our planned results. For further risk factors see the Company's 10-KSB filed with the SEC for our latest fiscal year."
 

Contact:

     Tissera, Inc.

     (Investor Relations)

     Dr. Uri Elmaleh, 972-54-2223344

     uri@tissera.com