Pioneering stem cell therapy mends damaged heart tissue in patients

Posted under Advanced Cell Technology, Blog, Capricor, Companies, Diagnostics, Funding, heart disease, Medical Devices, Medical Supply, Pharmaceuticals, Startups, Stem Cell Therapeutics, Universities, Videos by Ryan McBride

Score one small victory for the troubled field of stem cell therapeutics. A small clinical trial showed that patients' own stem cells could repair damaged heart tissue after they suffered heart attacks, giving California developer Capricor the confidence to push ahead with a larger study, Bloomberg reported.

With an eye toward combating heart failure, 17 patients got the stem cell treatment, and half of what would otherwise be permanent scarring was fixed and muscle tissue grew. There was no significant change in heart function between those who got the experimental stem cell treatment and those who got the standard therapy in the 25-patient trial, but the regeneration of heart tissue marks significant progress in the field, experts told Bloomberg.

"If we can regenerate the whole heart, then the patient would be completely normal," Eduardo Marban, the study's lead author from Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles, told Bloomberg. "We haven't fulfilled that yet, but we've gotten rid of half of the injury, and that's a good start."

Of course, this stem cell therapy faces a long haul to prove its worth as a treatment for patients at risk of heart failure--which has long been the leading cause of death among Americans. But the promise shown in the trial conducted at Cedars-Sinai and Johns Hopkins University boosts a stem cell field that has taken some blows recently, most notability with embryonic stem cell pioneer Geron's ($GERN) decision to exit the field and sell its ESC assets last year.

Capricor's good news adds to Advanced Cell Technology's ($ACTC) upbeat data from a study of an ESC therapy for combating blindness. So these developers and their never-say-die mentality keep the world watching the stem cell field.

- check out Bloomberg's article
- see The Telegraph's report

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ACT trumpets positive efficacy data from ESC trial sampling

Posted under Advanced Cell Technology, Blog, Companies, Diagnostics, embryonic stem cells, Funding, Geron, macular degeneration, Medical Devices, Medical Supply, Pharmaceuticals, Startups, Universities, Videos by John Carroll

The beleaguered embryonic stem cell field got a boost today from a clinical trial sample in which two legally blind patients demonstrated partially restored vision after getting an injection of new cells prepared by Advanced Cell Technology ($ACTC). The two subjects suffer from two types of macular degeneration, a common condition in which vision blurs as retinal cells die. And after injections of ESC-derived retinal cells, both scored better on vision tests, leaving ACT to claim bragging rights for reporting the first efficacy data in the ESC field.    

"Despite the progressive nature of these conditions, the vision of both patients appears to have improved after transplantation of the cells, even at the lower dosage," says Advanced Cell Technology CSO Robert Lanza. "This is particularly important, since the ultimate goal of this therapy will be to treat patients earlier in the course of the disease where more significant results might potentially be expected."

The data from the tiny Phase I/II study by ACT, which has skirted financial disaster in the past, is being reported in The Lancet. Regulators, obviously, would require much larger trials before even considering an approval. But the news marks a bright spot after a major setback in ESC research.

The recent news that the pioneering ESC company Geron ($GERN) is selling off its programs has cast a pall over the field. Alan Trounson, who runs the California stem cell agency, said recently that Geron's decision to exit the field created "a very strong negative influence internationally." According to the California Stem Cell Report Geron has been talking with two potential bidders.

- read the press release
- here's the story from The Telegraph

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Geron abandons pioneering stem cell program, lays off 66

Posted under Advanced Cell Technology, Blog, Companies, Diagnostics, embryonic stem cells, Funding, Geron, Medical Devices, Medical Supply, Pharmaceuticals, Startups, Universities, Videos by John Carroll

After more than a decade of pioneering work in the embryonic stem cell field, Geron ($GERN) has pulled out the white flag, abandoning its ESC programs and laying off 66 workers as it scrambles to regroup around its experimental cancer therapeutics. The unexpected moves rattled investors, triggering a sell-off of its shares overnight, which plunged 17%.

Newly-named Geron CEO John Scarlett said that the Menlo Park, CA-based biotech simply had no other choice. Forced to conserve cash after putting its stem cell therapy for spinal cord injuries through its first small human test, the best Geron could do was offer to hand the work over to a potential partner. "We need to focus our resources on advancing these Phase II clinical trials of our two cancer drugs," Scarlett told Bloomberg.

The post mortem for these programs is going to be brutal for everyone in the ESC field--if not the entire biotech industry.

Analyst Steve Brozak of WBB Securities told the AP that Geron had been unable to bring in partners and new cash while it was still in very early-stage testing. And VCs are less and less patient as development timelines grow longer and longer. "It could be outsourced to a place like China very easily," he warned the news wire in apocalyptic terms. "In that case, this would be the de facto abdication of U.S. leadership in biotechnology."

Advanced Cell Technology ($ACTC)--which has experienced its own near-death experiences as it scrounged for cash to pay for cutting-edge work--is now the solo player engaged in ESC trials with a study underway for macular degeneration. That's not likely to encourage anyone to jump into these frigid waters.

- read the press release
- here's the Bloomberg report
- get The New York Times article
- see the AP story

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