04.14.14
BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc., a New York, N.Y.-based developer of adult stem cell technologies for neurodegenerative diseases, has earned an additional U.S. patent for its autologous stem cell technology. The patent covers the production method of the company’s proprietary stem cells induced to secrete significantly elevated levels of neurotrophic factors for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.
The neurotrophic factors secreted by the company’s patented cells include glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, and vascular endothelial growth factor, known to support the neural cell network by protection of existing motor neurons, promotion of motor neuron growth, and re-establishment of nerve-muscle interaction. In addition, the cells secrete high levels of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), which has been recently suggested to have neuroprotective effects in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a disease of the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movement.
BrainStorm also recently signed a definitive agreement with the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston, Mass., to conduct a Phase II clinical trial of its proprietary Nurown stem cell therapy, which was developed with these cells, in ALS pending U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Institutional Review Board approvals. The other two clinical sites slated for the multi-center trial are the University of Massachusetts Memorial (UMass) Hospital, and Mayo Clinic. Dana Farber Cancer Institute’s Connell and O’Reilly Cell Manipulation Core Facility will manufacture the Nurown cells for MGH and UMass Hospital.
“We are excited to be taking the final steps towards FDA approval and the U.S. trial launch,” said Chaim Lebovits, President of BrainStorm. “It is a privilege to be collaborating with Professor Merit Cudkowicz, chair of neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital, professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, and leading expert in the field.”
“It is encouraging that stem cell treatments are now in development for people with ALS, and we are eager to begin this trial with BrainStorm’s unique approach,” said Merit Cudkowicz, M.D., principal investigator at MGH.
The neurotrophic factors secreted by the company’s patented cells include glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, and vascular endothelial growth factor, known to support the neural cell network by protection of existing motor neurons, promotion of motor neuron growth, and re-establishment of nerve-muscle interaction. In addition, the cells secrete high levels of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), which has been recently suggested to have neuroprotective effects in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a disease of the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movement.
BrainStorm also recently signed a definitive agreement with the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston, Mass., to conduct a Phase II clinical trial of its proprietary Nurown stem cell therapy, which was developed with these cells, in ALS pending U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Institutional Review Board approvals. The other two clinical sites slated for the multi-center trial are the University of Massachusetts Memorial (UMass) Hospital, and Mayo Clinic. Dana Farber Cancer Institute’s Connell and O’Reilly Cell Manipulation Core Facility will manufacture the Nurown cells for MGH and UMass Hospital.
“We are excited to be taking the final steps towards FDA approval and the U.S. trial launch,” said Chaim Lebovits, President of BrainStorm. “It is a privilege to be collaborating with Professor Merit Cudkowicz, chair of neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital, professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, and leading expert in the field.”
“It is encouraging that stem cell treatments are now in development for people with ALS, and we are eager to begin this trial with BrainStorm’s unique approach,” said Merit Cudkowicz, M.D., principal investigator at MGH.