Orgenesis Announces Poster Presentation at the 54th Annual Meeting of the European Association of the Study of Diabetes

Reports positive pre-clinical data on process to increase the efficiency and output of reprogrammed liver cells to produce insulin


GERMANTOWN, Md., Sept. 28, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Orgenesis Inc. (NASDAQ: ORGS), a manufacturer, service provider and developer of advanced cell therapies, today announced that Professor Sarah Ferber, Ph.D., Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Orgenesis, will present a poster at the 54th Annual Meeting of the European Association of the Study of Diabetes (EASD) held on Monday, October 1st through Friday, October 5th, at the Messe Berlin Exhibition Halls in Berlin, Germany.

The poster is entitled “The Epigenetic Characteristics of Liver to Pancreas Transdifferentiation,” and will be presented on Wednesday, October 3, 2018 at 1:15 PM.

Professor Ferber commented, “Orgenesis’ transdifferentiation process, which involves reprogramming adult cells to perform other functions, has potential application across many indications, including the treatment of severe diabetes following Total Pancreatectomy (TP), as well as insulin-dependent diabetes.  These therapies involve cells that transform the patient’s own liver cells into a fully-functional and physiologically glucose-responsive insulin-producing cells, designed to provide long-term insulin independence.  We are excited to present the results of our latest pre-clinical study at EASD where we will show that, by isolating cells with high capacity to transdifferentiate, we can dramatically increase the efficiency of and output of our production process.”

Professor Ferber continued, “In addition to the results of this initial study, which we are presenting at EASD, I’m also pleased to report that we subsequently generated additional pre-clinical safety and efficacy data.  We look forward to reporting these results at another upcoming scientific conference in the near future.”

About EASD
The European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) is a non-profit, medical scientific association.  It was founded in 1965 and is headquartered in Duesseldorf, Germany.  The aims of the EASD are to encourage and support research in the field of diabetes, the rapid diffusion of acquired knowledge and to facilitate its application.  EASD holds its Annual Meeting in a different European city each year with more than 15,000 delegates from over 130 countries attending.  The scientific program includes more than 1,200 talks and presentations on the latest results in diabetes research by leading experts in the field. 

About Orgenesis
Orgenesis is a vertically-integrated biopharmaceutical company with expertise and unique experience in cell therapy development and support services.  Through its Israeli subsidiary, Orgenesis Ltd., Orgenesis is developing technology designed to successfully reprogram human liver cells into glucose-responsive, fully functional, Insulin Producing Cells (IPCs).  Orgenesis believes that converting the diabetic patient's own tissue into insulin-producing cells has the potential to overcome the significant issues of donor shortage, cost and exposure to chronic immunosuppressive therapy associated with islet cell transplantation.  Through its Masthercell Global subsidiary, a global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), Orgenesis is able to deliver optimized process industrialization capacities to cell therapy organizations and speed up the arrival of their therapies onto the market.  From technology selection to business modeling, GMP manufacturing, process development, and quality management, Masthercell’s teams are fully committed to helping their clients fulfill their objective of providing sustainable and affordable therapies to their patients.  Masthercell operates in a validated and flexible facility located in the strategic center of Europe within the Walloon healthcare cluster, Biowin.  This integrated approach supports the Company's business philosophy of bringing to market significant life-improving medical treatments.  For more information, visit www.orgenesis.com.

Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended t.  These forward-looking statements involve substantial uncertainties and risks and are based upon our current expectations, estimates and projections and reflect our beliefs and assumptions based upon information available to us at the date of this release.  We caution readers that forward-looking statements are predictions based on our current expectations about future events.  These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict.  Our actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the success of our reorganized CDMO operations, the success of our partnership with Great Point Partners, our ability to achieve and maintain overall profitability, the sufficiency of working capital to realize our business plans, the development of our transdifferentiation technology as therapeutic treatment for diabetes which could, if successful, be a cure for Type 1 Diabetes; our technology not functioning as expected; our ability to retain key employees; our ability to satisfy the rigorous regulatory requirements for new procedures; our competitors developing better or cheaper alternatives to our products and the risks and uncertainties discussed under the heading "RISK FACTORS" in Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2017, and in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  We undertake no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement for any reason.

Contact for Orgenesis:
David Waldman
Crescendo Communications, LLC
Tel: 212-671-1021
Orgs@crescendo-ir.com