Insception Biosciences Begins Human Clinical Trials of Stem Cell
Treatment That Could Replace Bone Marrow Transplants
TORONTO, Feb. 6 /CNW/ - Insception Biosciences Inc., a privately-
held company that develops stem cell treatments, announced today it
has received approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to
begin human clinical studies of a new stem cell treatment, which
offers an alternative to bone marrow transplants.
Cord blood, which offers a rich source of blood stem cells, is now
clinically accepted as a viable alternative to bone marrow or
peripheral blood as sources of stem cells for transplantation and
treatment of a variety of blood, cancer and genetic disorders. To
date, one of the barriers to the widespread use of cord blood has
been the low number of stem cells in cord blood samples. This has, by
and large, limited its use to pediatric patients.
However, Insception Biosciences' new cellular product, called INSC01,
contains an enriched number of stem cells from umbilical cord blood
which will broaden the use of cord blood stem cells for adult
transplants.
"This is a major milestone, not only for Insception but also for
the advancement of cord blood stem cell treatments," says Dr. Laura
Grey, VP Research and Business Development at Insception
Biosciences. "Cord blood is not only an alternative stem cell source
to bone marrow, it provides the significant advantages of being
easily collected and can be stored as a frozen product, which means
it is readily available with minimal waiting times.
Ultimately, this technology could be applied in the future to help
patients who cannot find a suitable donor or who cannot afford to
wait for a bone marrow transplant."
On any given day, there are approximately 6,000 patients in the
U.S. alone requiring a bone marrow transplant but have no donor,
according to the U.S. National Marrow Donor Program. There are also
hundreds of Canadians in need of bone marrow transplants each year to
treat a wide variety of illnesses, including blood-related diseases
such as leukemia, and inherited immune system and metabolic
disorders, according to the Canadian Blood
Services. For most of these patients, a bone marrow transplant may be
the last and best chance for recovery from a serious illness. Many
will die waiting for a suitable match.
"Without question, umbilical cord blood has already had a
dramatic impact on the application of bone marrow transplantation,
particularly for those awaiting a bone marrow transplant who cannot
find a matched donor. However, it is also unequivocally clear that
the number of stem cells in an umbilical cord blood sample is the
most critical determinant influencing the probability of a
cure," says Dr. John Wagner, director of the Blood and Marrow
Transplant Program at the University of Minnesota, one of the world's
most experienced cord blood transplant centers. "For this reason,
products like Insception Biosciences' INSCO1, based on expanding the
number of stem cells in cord blood, are critical to dramatically
advancing the application of cord blood transplants.
Increasingly, cord blood is being used for bone marrow transplants
worldwide. Cord blood offers clear advantages including easy
collection, lower risk of viral transmission, reduced risk of graft
versus host disease, and is storable as a frozen product, which means
it is readily available without any long waiting times.
A growing number of new parents are opting to store their
children's cord blood for potential future use. Insception houses the
largest inventory of cord blood samples in Canada and is setting
industry standards for quality in umbilical cord blood banking and
stem cell research. Currently, public cord blood banking options are
limited in Canada although considerable efforts are afoot to
establish a national public cord blood bank. INSC01 provides an
opportunity to extend the use of cord blood samples stored in both
the private and public cord blood banks.
"Insception Biosciences is committed to remaining at the leading
edge of stem cell research and cord blood banking to further advance
stem cell treatments," says Joan Yates, President and COO at
Insception Biosciences. "Every family should be made aware of the
potential value of umbilical cord blood before the birth of their
child so they can make an informed decision about their cord blood
banking options."
Insception Biosciences Inc. has established itself as a leader in
the field of umbilical cord blood cellular therapies. The company
operates the largest cord blood program in Canada at its state-of-the-
art facility located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Insception's
research and development division is developing a pipeline of
cellular therapy products to improve on and extend the medical uses
of cord blood. These include products for blood (bone marrow)
applications and for non-blood applications such as peripheral
vascular disease, neurological disorders and diabetes. For more
information on
Insception, visit www.insception.
For further information: Media Contacts: Angela Gurley, Ketchum on
behalf of Insception Biosciences Inc., (416) 355-7415,
angela.gurley@
Insception
Biosciences Inc., (416) 355-7430, lindsey.coulter@
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StemCells subscribers may also be interested in these sites:
Children's Neurobiological Solutions
http://www.CNSfoundation.org/
Cord Blood Registry
http://www.CordBlood.com/at.cgi?a=150123
The CNS Healing Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CNS_Healing
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