The ReNeuron Group Plc has received final regulatory clearance to start its ground-breaking first-in-man study of a stem cell therapy for stroke. The therapy will be administered to patients who have been left disabled by an ischaemic stroke.
A patient in the US has become the first person with the neurodegenerative disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), to be treated with stem cells. The cells were directly injected into the spinal cord of the patient on 20 January 2010.
The US Food and Drug Administration has put a ‘clinical hold’ on a proposed first-in-man study of a new embryonic stem cell treatment for eye disease, according to the developer.
Cell Medica Ltd of London, UK has signed a research and development agreement with a medical research center in Texas to help it commercialise clinically-proven cell therapies which have been pioneered by the US researchers.
Researchers at Newcastle University in the UK have reported the successful treatment of eight patients suffering from an eye disease known as limbal stem cell deficiency with the patients’ own stem cells. The treatment was administered in a clinical trial.
Geron Corporation of Menlo Park California, US expects to begin its first-in-man study of a new embryonic stem cell therapy for spinal cord injury in the third quarter of 2010. This follows discussions with the Food and Drug Administration during which a strategy was outlined for lifting the trial hold.
TiGenix NV of Belgium is set to acquire Orthomimetics, a privately-held UK medical technology company, for shares valued at €16 million in order to extend its regenerative medicines franchise.
BioCeramic Therapeutics, a privately-owned company that is developing bioactive materials for orthopaedic and dental applications has received £1.2 million to support its operations ahead of the commercialisation of its lead product in 2010.
The Riverside Company, a private equity group with offices in Brussels, Belgium, has acquired Crioestaminal SA of Portugal which collects stem cells from umbilical cord blood.
Cell Medica Ltd, an early-stage cellular therapeutics company, has received £1.95 million in new funding in order to commercialise its lead product, a cell therapy technique which protects patients from infection following a bone marrow transplant.