A Medical Device Daily

Advanced Cell Technology (ACTC; Alameda, California) reported that preclinical studies using hESCs derived from the company's proprietary ACTcellerate technology — a means of accelerating the discovery of products from hESC — will be used as part of a study to determine if hESCs are safe and effective in animal models for heart attacks and heart failure.

The studies will be funded under a $2.52 million grant awarded to University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) scientist Randall Lee, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine, from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM).

The grant is for four years of study. CIRM, the governing body of Proposition 71, manages the $3 billion California initiative.

Michael West, PhD, president and chief scientific officer of ACTC, said, "We are encouraged that CIRM's funding will potentially speed therapies to the bedside for the 400,000 Americans who die suddenly from new or recurring heart attacks each year. We are pleased to provide the ACTCellerate platform in an effort to provide an alternative to heart transplantation for individuals with severely injured hearts, a treatment that is limited by the availability of donor hearts."

ACTC is a biotech company applying embryonic stem cell technology in the emerging field of regenerative medicine. The company operates facilities in Alameda and Worcester, Massachusetts.