Disease Focus: Neurological Disorders
Manufacturing of AS-202, an Antisense oligonucleotides for a Phase 1/2 Clinical Trial for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Therapeutic Candidate or Device AS-202, an antisense oligonucleotide Indication Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Therapeutic Mechanism AS-202 targets PIKFYVE, a lipid kinase. By inhibiting PIKFYVE activity, it induces exosomal secretion, which robustly clears misfolded proteins including C9ORF72 dipeptide repeat proteins (DPRs), TDP-43 and tau from neurons. Unmet Medical Need To date, therapeutic options for ALS have been […]
Allogeneic iPSC derived Dopaminergic Drug Product for Parkinson’s disease
Therapeutic Candidate or Device Allogeneic iPSC derived dopamine progenitors delivered to the brain of Parkinson's disease patients Indication Idiopathic Parkinson's disease Therapeutic Mechanism The cellular product reconstitutes dopaminergic neuron circuits lost owing to the disease Unmet Medical Need There are currently disease modifying therapies. This approach is intended to be disease modifying. Project Objective To […]
Genome Editing of Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cells to Treat Severe Mucopolysaccharidosis type 1 (Hurler Syndrome)
Therapeutic Candidate or Device Autologous blood stem cells edited to restore iduronidase expression Indication Severe Mucopolysaccharidosis Type 1 (MPS1/ Hurler's syndrome) Therapeutic Mechanism Autologous blood stem cells undergo genome editing to restore the production of the missing enzyme. These cells are returned to the patient to replace their bone marrow, where they can secrete functional […]
Hematopoetic stem cell gene therapy for the treatment of Tay-Sachs disease
Therapeutic Candidate or Device Autologous hematopoietic stem cells transduced with a HexA/HexB expressing lentiviral vector Indication Tay-Sachs disease Therapeutic Mechanism The transplanted gene modified autologous hematopoietic stem cells will engraft in the bone marrow and start producing HexA/HexB expressing immune progeny. Microglia, which establish residence in the brain, will deliver functional beta-hexosaminidase enzyme to affected […]
Placental Mesenchymal Stem Cell Augmentation of Fetal Myelomeningocele Repair
Therapeutic Candidate or Device Allogeneic Placenta-derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Seeded on Cook Biodesign® Dural Graft Extracellular Matrix (PMSC-ECM) Indication Myelomeningocele (MMC) -or Spina Bifida -diagnosed prenataly Therapeutic Mechanism Placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells (PMSCs) act by a paracrine mechanism, secreting a variety of growth factors, cytokines, and extracellular vesicles. This secretory profile is unique to PMSCs […]
MRI Guided Delivery of Neural Progenitor Cells Secreting GDNF for the Treatment of Parkinson’s disease
Therapeutic Candidate or Device CNS10-NPC-GDNF is a neural progenitor cell line transfected with glial cell line derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) Indication Mid-stage Parkinson's disease (UPDRS stage III or lower) Therapeutic Mechanism Degeneration of dopaminergic neurons that project from the substantia nigra to the striatum causes the primary motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease. CNS10-NPC-GDNF cells will […]
An hESC-derived hNSC Therapeutic for Huntington’s Disease
Therapeutic Candidate or Device The therapeutic candidate is a human Neural Stem Cell product to prevent or delay disease symptoms for treatment of Huntington's disease (HD). Indication Huntington’s disease, a progressive, degenerative brain disease, typically strikes in midlife with no disease modifying treatment treatments exist. Therapeutic Mechanism Based on our pre-clinical studies, the human neural […]
Intraparenchymal NR1 Stem Cell Therapy for Chronic Subcortical Ischemic Stroke
Therapeutic Candidate or Device A human embryonic derived, non-genetically modified neural stem cell (NR1), originally derived from the Wi-Cell H-9 line. Indication Patients with chronic motor deficits, from 6 months to 5 years after stroke. NR1 cells will be transplanted into the brain near the stroke. Therapeutic Mechanism The proposed therapeutic mechanism of action of […]
A hNSC Development Candidate for Huntington’s Disease
Huntington’s disease (HD) is a devastating degenerative brain disease with at least a 1 in 10,000 prevalence that inevitably leads to death. These numbers do not fully reflect the large societal and familial cost of HD, which requires extensive care-giving. HD has no effective treatment or cure and symptoms unstoppably progress for 15-20 years, with […]
Placental Stem Cells for the In Utero Treatment of Spina Bifida
Myelomeningocele – also known as spina bifida – is a devastating and costly defect that causes lifelong paralysis as well as bowel and bladder incontinence in newborns. It is one of the most common birth defects worldwide, with four children in the United States born with spina bifida every day. Spina bifida affects the physical, […]