Stem Cell Research Boosted by Newly Published Findings
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Research data published by the British Journal of Haematology demonstrates that a patient's own blood has the capacity to assist in the regeneration and repair of a multitude of damaged tissues.
The efficacy of adult stem cell treatment for cardiac patients developed by TheraVitae has been well documented. The article shows that the technology opens the door now for far wider applications.
The article, entitled "Isolation of an Adult Blood-Derived Progenitor Cell Population Capable of Differentiation into Angiogenic, Myocardial and Neural Lineages" presents the technology developed and the scientific rationale supporting that technology.
A novel stem cell population, called Synergetic Cell Population has been discovered and cultured under conditions that mimic the natural body environment where they develop into different cell types, such as blood vessel cells, heart muscle cells and even nerves.
Principal author, Dr Yael Porat, Vice-president Research and Development at TheraVitae Ltd (Israel), who directed the research, said, "The data is promising as it seems that circulating blood has a much wider healing capacity than had previously been thought."
"Researchers are only just starting to reveal the potential of the blood to generate various functioning cell types."
She also added that the goal was now to push the boundaries of stem cell science by constantly developing new therapeutic cellular products.
The ability to obtain this population directly from blood using a simple, painless and rapid isolation process constitutes a major breakthrough in adult stem cell research.
The technology has already resulted in a clinical product, VesCell™ that has been approved for use in patients with severe heart disease in Southeast Asia and is soon going to be developed clinically in North America and Europe.
Dr. Valentin Fulga, TheraVitae Ltd's CEO and co- author of the article, added that bringing these results to the scientific community through a peer-reviewed article, was a key step to TheraVitae's strategy of advancing scientific research into adult stem cells and their clinical applications.
"We intend to make maximum efforts to offer new hope to patients suffering from diseases that are presently considered to be incurable."
"We are proud to have had this opportunity to publish our data in a distinguished journal such as the British Journal of Haematology," he said.
