Disease Focus: Spinal Cord Injury
A human neural stem cell therapeutic candidate for the treatment of chronic cervical spinal cord injury
Translational Candidate The therapeutic candidate is a central nervous system tissue-derived GMP line developed under DISC2-10753 with an established GMP qualified seed bank. Area of Impact The target is chronic cervical spinal cord injury, which represents approximately 59% of clinical spinal cord injury cases. Mechanism of Action Integration of transplanted human neural stem cells is […]
Human Embryonic Stem Cell-Derived Neural Stem Cells for Severe Spinal Cord Injury (SCI)
Translational Candidate H9 (WA09) embryonic stem cell-derived neural stem cells with a spinal cord identity (H9-NSCsc) Area of Impact Severe spinal cord injury Mechanism of Action Our candidate therapy for SCI uses human neural stem cells in a gel-like matrix containing growth factors. We aim to fill the injury site with replacement neural stem cells […]
1st Annual Spinal Cord Injury Investor Symposium (SCIIS)
Human Embryonic Stem Cell-Derived Neural Stem Cells for Severe Spinal Cord Injury (SCI)
Therapeutic Candidate or Device Human embryonic stem cell-derived neural stem cells. Indication Spinal cord injury Therapeutic Mechanism The proposed neural stem cell therapy will be transplanted into a spinal cord injury site, providing cell replacement and a new neuronal relay across the injury site in an effort to promote significant functional improvement. Unmet Medical Need […]
Injectable Hydrogels for the Delivery, Maturation, and Engraftment of Clinically Relevant Numbers of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Neural Progenitors to the Central Nervous System
One critical bottleneck in the translation of regenerative medicine into the clinic is the efficient delivery and engraftment of transplanted cells. While direct injection is the least invasive method for cell delivery, it commonly results in the survival of only 5-20% of cells. Studies suggest that delivery within a carrier gel may enhance cell viability, […]
Development of a Relevant Pre-Clinical Animal Model as a Tool to Evaluate Human Stem Cell-Derived Replacement Therapies for Motor Neuron Injuries and Degenerative Diseases
Motor neurons degenerate and die as a consequence of many conditions, including trauma to the spinal cord and its nerve roots and degenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and spinal muscular atrophy. Paralysis and in many cases death may result from a loss of motor neurons. No effective treatments are available for these patients. […]
A Phase I/IIa Dose Escalation Safety Study of AST-OPC1 in Patients with Cervical Sensorimotor Complete Spinal Cord Injury
The proposed project is designed to assess the safety and preliminary activity of escalating doses of human embryonic stem cell derived oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) for the treatment of spinal cord injury. OPCs have two important functions: they produce factors which stimulate the survival and growth of nerve cells after injury, and they mature in […]
Assessing the mechanism by which the Bone Morphogenetic Proteins direct stem cell fate
Our goal is to use the mechanisms that generate neuronal networks to create neurons from stem cells, to either replace diseased and damaged tissue or as a source of material to study disease mechanisms. A key focus of such regenerative studies is to restore function to the spinal cord, which is particularly vulnerable to damage. […]
Neural stem cell transplantation for chronic cervical spinal cord injury
1.3 million Americans suffer chronically from spinal cord injuries (SCI); each year ~15,000 individuals sustain a new injury. For California, this means nearly 147,000 individuals are living with a SCI which can leave otherwise healthy individuals with severe deficits in movement, sensation, and autonomic function. Recovery after SCI is often limited, even after aggressive emergency […]
Functional Neural Relay Formation by Human Neural Stem Cell Grafting in Spinal Cord Injury
We aim to develop a novel stem cell treatment for spinal cord injury (SCI) that is substantially more potent than previous stem cell treatments. By combining grafts of neural stem cells with scaffolds placed in injury sites, we have been able to optimize graft survival and filling of the injury site. Grafted cells extend long […]