Hematopoietic stem cell therapeutic developer Gamida-Cell is now enrolling patients in a Phase I clinical trial of StemEx, for the treatment of advanced stages of hematologic malignancies such as leukemia and lymphoma. The Phase I trial will be conducted at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
The objective of the trial is to assess safety and the rate and durability of hematopoietic reconstitution after high dose chemotherapy. Umbilical cord blood will be expanded using Gamida-Cell's technology that has shown to stimulate stem cell expansion with minimal cell differentiation in pre-clinical studies. Adults and children without a related bone marrow/stem cell match will be enrolled in this clinical study.
Leukemia, Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphomas are cancers that originate in the bone marrow or lymphatic tissues. There are in excess of 1.5 million people diagnosed with Leukemia and Lymphoma worldwide.
Gamida-Cell was founded in 1998, based on technology for stem cell expansion licensed from and jointly developed with Hadassah University Medical Center, Jerusalem. The company is currently engaged in a Phase I study in the US which, pending regulatory approval, will be followed by a pivotal multi-center study in the US and Europe. The first commercial product is expected in 2006. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
