The European Medicines Agency is recommending approval of a new advanced therapy medicinal product which is intended for the repair of cartilage defects. The product had been available in some EU countries, but now it will be widely traded.
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California have discovered an antibody that can trigger the transformation of bone marrow stem cells directly into brain cells – something that reportedly has not been done before.
TiGenix NV has reported that a Phase 2a study of its allogeneic stem cell therapy in patients with refractory rheumatoid arthritis had positive six-month safety data. The trial enrolled patients who had failed to respond to at least two biologic therapies.
GenSight Biologics, a privately-owned French company, has raised €32 million in a Series A round from a group of venture capital funds to develop a gene replacement therapy for Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON), a serious eye disorder.
A revolutionary T-cell immunotherapy developed by scientists at the University of Pennsylvania in the US has demonstrated a positive result in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), an aggressive form of childhood cancer. The results of the treatment, which was administered to two patients aged seven and 10, are scheduled to appear in the 18 April 2013 edition of The New England Journal of Medicine. A summary of the study was released early on 25 March.
Mesoblast Ltd of Australia has raised A$170 million (€136.3 million) in a private placement of its shares with existing and new investors including M&G Investment Management and Capital Research. The monies will fund the company’s cell therapies.
Just eight months after securing £17 million in new equity, Cell Medica Ltd has expanded its management team to appoint a chief medical officer, a chief financial officer and a vice president of development all of whom will be based in the US.
A stem-cell encapsulation product designed to treat people with insulin-dependent diabetes has received fresh funding, and according to the developer, could enter the clinic in 2014.
Bone Therapeutics SA of Belgium has raised €7.7 million from existing private and institutional investors and the Walloon regional government to advance the clinical development of its lead cell therapy product for bone disease.
Scientists at the Scripps Clinic in California have started research on an autologous stem-cell therapy for Parkinson’s disease intended to help patients produce sufficient amounts of dopamine to alleviate the worst symptoms of the disorder.