The potential of stem cells as future therapies could be linked to a greater understanding of how mitochondria are transferred among cells in the human body leading to the repair of damaged tissue, according to a paper in The EMBO Journal on 15 January.
Further data from a previously-reported Phase 1/2 study of ProSavin, a gene therapy for patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease, confirms the treatment’s favourable safety profile. Developed by Oxford BioMedica Plc, ProSavin is delivered in a lentiviral vector.
Barcelona-based Grifols SA has become a strategic investor in TiGenix NV through the purchase of new shares valued at €12 million. The deal brings Grifols, the world’s third largest producer of plasma-derived products, further into the cell therapy arena.
Sales of ChondroCelect, an autologous cell therapy for the repair of cartilage defects in the knee, increased by 21% to €3.1 million in the first nine months of 2013 from a year earlier, the developer, TiGenix NV reported.
Five-year follow-up data from a pioneering trachea transplantation using tissue-engineered materials has confirmed that the procedure is safe and effective, according to a report in The Lancet. The follow-up report takes into account a stent procedure carried out in the recovery period to address scarring.
Since 2007, legislation known as the Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products Regulation (ATMP) has been in place to set regulatory standards for assessing gene, cell and tissue-engineered products. Yet in this time only four ATMPs have been approved for marketing.
Cell Medica Ltd has further extended its global footprint with the opening of a manufacturing facility in Germany which will support the commercial launch of its lead cell product for the prevention and treatment of cytomegalovirus infections.
The boundaries of stem-cell technology have once again pushed back with a finding by Spanish researchers that adult mouse cells can be reprogrammed in vivo to generate induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. The finding was reported on 11 September, 2013 in Nature.
Evotec AG, the Hamburg-based drug discovery and development company, has once again joined forces with scientists at Harvard University – this time to identify compounds that could prevent or slow down the loss of motor neurons in disease.
Kiadis Pharma BV of the Netherlands has disclosed five-year follow-up data for an allogeneic stem cell treatment for patients undergoing transplantations for leukaemia which showed a survival rate of 67% at the optimal dose. The data has been submitted to a peer-reviewed medical journal for publication.