Disease Focus: Bone or Cartilage Disease
IND-enabling development of ART352-L, an endogenous stem cell reactivation therapy to enhance bone healing in the elderly
Therapeutic Candidate or Device ART352-L, a liposomal formulation of recombinant human WNT3A protein that is intended to enhance the osteogenic properties of autografts in elderly Indication Patients with Degenerative Spondylolisthesis (DS) undergoing a spinal fusion surgery Therapeutic Mechanism WNT proteins are potent pro-osteogenic signals. L-WNT3A is the investigative prototype material of ART352-L. L-WNT3A treated autografts […]
Allogenic human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis
Therapeutic Candidate or Device Intra-articularly injected allogeneic culture-expanded human adipose derived mesenchymal progenitor cells Indication Knee osteoarthritis Therapeutic Mechanism Cartilage regeneration (as determined by cartilage volume increase), immunomodulatory effects Unmet Medical Need There is no approved disease modification therapy for osteoarthritis (OA), and OA is a leading cause of both hospitalization and joint replacement surgery. […]
Development of a Chondrogenic Drug Candidate Targeting Resident Mesenchymal Stem Cells for the Treatment of Osteoarthritis
Therapeutic Candidate or Device The therapeutic candidate is a drug-like small molecule that promotes cartilage resident mesenchymal stem cell differentiation into chondrocytes. Indication Osteoarthritis and cartilage injury Therapeutic Mechanism The therapeutic candidate, through intra-articular administration, promotes cartilage resident mesenchymal stem cell differentiation into chondrocytes. The newly formed chondrocytes replace the dead chondrocytes, synthesize and secret […]
Development of a Chondrogenic Drug Candidate Targeting Cartilage-residing Mesenchymal Stem Cells for the Treatment of Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most prevalent musculoskeletal disease affecting nearly 27 million people in the United States, and is the leading cause of chronic disability in the United States. Current therapeutic options are limited to pain or symptom-modifying drugs and joint replacement surgery; no disease-modifying drugs are approved for clinical use. OA is characterized by […]
Embryonic Stem Cell-Derived Chondroprogenitor Cells to Repair Osteochondral Defects
Surgical approaches to the treatment of focal cartilage defects can be classified into repair, replacement, and regeneration therapies. Marrow stimulation procedures such as microfracture result in a repair tissue that is predominantly fibrocartilaginous in nature, which is mechanically less durable than articular cartilage and survives on average 7 years before requiring another procedure. Osteochondral grafting […]
Multi-modal technology for non-destructive characterization of bioengineered tissues
Stem cell technologies hold great promise for engineering replacement tissues for repairing functional loss from trauma or disease. Such therapies are particularly important for replacing bone and cartilage in the aging population to maintain an active quality of life. However, the application of stem cells to generate individualized implantable grafts suffers from patient-to-patient variability that […]
Injectable Macroporous Matrices to Enhance Stem Cell Engraftment and Survival
Despite the great promise stem cells hold for regenerative medicine, the efficacy of stem cell-based therapies is greatly limited by poor cell engraftment and survival. To overcome this major bottleneck, the goal of this proposal is to validate the efficacy of novel microribbon (µRB)-based scaffolds for cell delivery. These scaffolds combine the injectability and cell […]
Gene Targeting to Endogenous Stem Cells for Segmental Bone Fracture Healing
Segmental bone fractures are a complex medical condition. These injuries cause great suffering to patients, long-term hospitalization, repeated surgeries, loss of working days, and considerable costs to the health system. It is well known that bone grafts taken from the patient (autografts) are considered the gold-standard therapy for these bone defects. Yet these grafts are […]
Treatment of non-traumatic osteonecrosis with endogenous Mesenchymal stem cells
Although most individuals are aware that osteoporosis is disease of increased bone fragility that results from estrogen deficiency and aging, most are unaware of the high risk and cost of the disorder. It is estimated that close to 30% of the fractures that occur in the United States each year are due to osteoporosis (Schwartz […]
Tissue engineered cartilage from autologous, dermis-isolated, adult, stem (DIAS) cells
This study addresses the cartilage defects resulting from injuries or from wear-and-tear that can eventually degenerate to osteoarthritis. This is a significant problem that impacts millions and costs in excess of $65B per annum in the US alone. Addressing this indication successfully holds potential for halting the progression of cartilage damage before it destroys the […]