California-based International Stem Cell Corporation this morning announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Cyto Therapeutics, has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Royal Melbourne Hospital in Australia to conduct phase I/IIa clinical trials of ISCO’s proprietary human parthenogenetic neural stem cells (hPNSCs) for the treatment of Parkinson’s Disease.
The LOI follows a recent meeting with Australian Therapeutics Goods Administration (TGA), and precedes a full agreement expected to be signed after TGA and the HREC approve the clinical protocol for the trials.
“We had a productive meeting with TGA where we discussed the clinical protocol and potentially came to an agreement on all remaining items. We look forward to receiving TGA approval for clinical trials in November and enrolling patients soon thereafter,” Russell A. Kern, Ph.D., chief scientific officer of ISCO, stated in the news release.
ISCO’s Parkinson’s disease program uses hPNSCs, a novel therapeutic cellular product derived from the company’s proprietary human pluripotent stem cells. hPNSC are self-renewing multipotent cells that are precursors for the major cells of the central nervous system. The cells’ ability to differentiate into dopaminergic neurons and express neurotrophic factors to protect the nigrostriatal system creates a potential new opportunity for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.
Additionally, hpSCs offer the potential to create the first true stem cell bank, UniStemCell™. ISCO also produces and markets specialized cells and growth media for therapeutic research worldwide through its subsidiary Lifeline Cell Technology (www.lifelinecelltech.com), and stem cell-based skin care products through its subsidiary Lifeline Skin Care (www.lifelineskincare.com).
For more information visit www.internationalstemcell.com
