Pluri and Bar-Ilan University to Develop PLX Cells for the Treatment of Cocaine Addiction

• Agreement signed following positive pre-clinical data demonstrating a one-time treatment with PLX-PAD significantly increased neurogenesis, offering immediate, long-term therapeutic effect in treating cocaine addiction
  
• There are no FDA-approved medications to treat cocaine addiction, a severely unmet need as demand for treatment increases in the U.S. and Europe
• Bar-Ilan University through its tech transfer arm BIRAD Research & Development Company Ltd. receives the right to develop and commercialize the product, Pluri entitled to 20% revenue sharing from future sales of PLX cells as anti-addiction product
  

HAIFA, Israel, Dec. 21, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pluri Inc. (Nasdaq: PLUR) (TASE: PLUR) (“Pluri” or the “Company”), a leading biotech company that transforms cells into solutions that promote well-being and sustainability, announced it has signed an agreement assigning the joint patent rights to develop Pluri’s PLX cells in the treatment of cocaine addiction, to BIRAD–Research & Development Company Ltd., the commercial arm of Bar-Ilan University. Under the agreement, Bar-Ilan University via BIRAD will receive the right to further develop and commercialize PLX cells as a cocaine anti-addiction product, and Pluri is entitled to 20% revenue sharing from future sales of the product for anti-addiction.

The agreement stems from a collaboration between Pluri and Bar-Ilan University researchers that presented compelling findings. Data from the studies were published in the peer-reviewed journal Pharmaceutics.

PLX-PAD Cells (PAD) attenuate cocaine craving in animal model for drug addiction (level presses indicate the compulsive demand of a rat to inject cocaine intravenous)

**The control group indicates rats that were trained to inject (lever pressing) cocaine; the sham group was trained to consume a non-addictive substance (saline) instead of cocaine; the PAD group indicates rats trained to inject cocaine that were treated with PAD.

The studies evaluated PLX-PAD cells’ efficacy in treating cocaine addiction in animal models. Findings demonstrate that PLX-PAD cells:

• Reduced cocaine-seeking behavior by migrating to specific mesolimbic regions of the brain and restoring neurogenesis
• Significantly increased neurogenesis
• Decreased cocaine cravings during withdrawal
• Significantly decreased drug cravings following drug relapse at 14 days and 28 days following treatment
• PLX Cells remained detectable in addiction-related brain areas 28 days post-injection