BresaGen sells its catheter technology

BresaGen (ASX:BGN) has assigned its cell delivery catheter licenses to North American company NexGen Technologies for about $380,000 plus a four per cent share in NexGen.

The company will retain the rights to use the technology, which has been approved by the US FDA for use in neurological cell therapy, for its own products, such as a treatment for Parkinson's disease.

Bresagen's VP and madical director Dr Chris Juttner said the deal was one of two in the cell therapy area foreshadowed in the company restructuring strategy, which was announced in August.

"I think it makes a lot of sense -- it means we can go on in a focused way," he said. "We have equity in the company as well as receiving an upfront payment, so we will benefit from their success."

Juttner said NexGen, which was founded by former consultant and current director of BresaGen John Kucharczyk, would continue to develop the catheter technology for a variety of cell and drug delivery applications.

BresaGen CEO John Smeaton said the deal was a logical step to take. "This deal gives us access to the best cell delivery technology without further investment by BresaGen," he said.

Market reaction to the announcement was positive, with the share price up 10 per cent to AUD$0.27 at the time of writing.