Aspen Neuroscience Cofounder Dr. Andrés Bratt-Leal Receives 2023 Biocom California Life Science Catalyst Award

SAN DIEGO, Nov. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Biocom California, the association representing the California life sciences industry, has announced that Andrés Bratt-Leal, PhD, Aspen Neuroscience co-founder and senior vice-president of research and development, is a recipient of the 2023 Life Science Catalyst Awards.

The winners will be honored in the Biocom California LifeLines digital platform, newsletter and social media platforms, and were celebrated at the annual "Celebration of Life" Dinner November 16 in San Diego.

The Catalyst Awards recognize the most inspiring and driven young minds who are sparking meaningful change to human health through research, discovery, and entrepreneurship in the California life sciences industry. The awards are open to accomplished as well as up-and-coming academics, entrepreneurs, investors, corporate leaders, and business advisers making their mark on the California life science industry.

"Andrés Bratt-Leal and each of the Life Science Catalyst Award winners have demonstrated insight, expertise, and passion for the cause in their respective areas, all of which are helping to propel the California life science ecosystem forward and benefiting human health," said Joe Panetta, president and CEO of Biocom California. "I'm proud to celebrate these highly skilled leaders and am confident they will continue to advance the industry for years to come."

"It is an honor to have been selected as a Biocom California Life Science Catalyst Award Winner, especially among this year's distinguished recipients," said Dr. Bratt-Leal. "I am fortunate and thankful to have had the opportunity over the years to work on amazing science with some of the best partners at Scripps Research, the Summit for Stem Cell Foundation and Aspen Neuroscience. Congratulations to the other awardees and thank you to Biocom for the recognition."

At Aspen Neuroscience, Dr. Bratt-Leal is helping lead the development of the world's first autologous (personalized) induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology to benefit people with Parkinson's Disease (PD). Currently there is no disease-modifying treatment for PD, the second most common neurodegenerative disease affecting more than 10 million patients worldwide.

The work by Andrés and his team is helping to progress the entire stem cell field by advancing the development of a new treatment modality. Andrés received his PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Georgia Tech and Emory University. In 2012, he joined The Scripps Research Institute as a post-doctoral fellow, where he began his work on creating patient-specific dopamine neurons for the treatment of PD. This postdoc work led to Dr. Bratt-Leal co-founding Aspen Neuroscience with Dr. Jeanne Loring, which spun out of Dr. Loring's Scripps lab in 2018.

Aspen recently announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared its Investigational New Drug (IND) application for ANPD001, enabling the company to proceed with an upcoming clinical trial for its personalized cell therapy to treat PD by replacing lost dopamine neurons.

About Biocom California
Biocom California is the leader and advocate for California's life science sector. The organization works on behalf of more than 1,700 members to drive public policy, build an enviable network of industry leaders, create access to capital, introduce cutting-edge STEM education programs and create robust value-driven purchasing programs.

Founded in 1995 in San Diego, Biocom California provides the strongest public voice to research institutions and companies that fuel the local and state-wide economy. The organization's goal is to help members produce novel solutions that improve the human condition. In addition to the San Diego headquarters, Biocom California operates core offices in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area, with satellite offices in Sacramento, Washington, D.C., and Tokyo.

About Aspen Neuroscience 
Headquartered in San Diego, Aspen Neuroscience, Inc. is a clinical development-stage, private company focused on personalized (autologous) regenerative medicine. The company is developing patient-derived iPSCs to create personalized cell therapies that address diseases with high unmet medical needs, beginning with autologous neuron replacement for Parkinson's disease and extending across the brain and affected organs.

A leading iPSC platform company, Aspen combines stem cell biology with the latest artificial intelligence and genomic approaches to investigate patient-specific, restorative treatments. The company has developed a best-in-class platform to create and optimize iPSC-derived cell therapies, which includes in-house bioinformatics, manufacturing and QC. For more information and important updates, please visit https://www.aspenneuroscience.com.  

SOURCE Aspen Neuroscience, Inc.