Stem cell implantation is a step closer to becoming the next strategy against Parkinson's disease. Two clinical trials, one in phase I and the other in phase I/II, have demonstrated their safety and potential to restore dopamine production in the brains of patients with this currently incurable neurodegenerative condition. The number of participants in the study is still small, and further research is needed to demonstrate the clinical benefits of these cell therapies.
Cartesian Therapeutics Inc. followed up December’s phase IIb data with more good news regarding Descartes-08, offering 12-month efficacy and safety results that whetted Wall Street’s appetite for the phase III Aurora effort ahead. Milos Miljkovic, chief medical officer, told BioWorld that minimum symptom expression – among the areas where Descartes-08 shone, providing relief for “months and months after the last dose of treatment” – is especially important to patients.
Neurona Therapeutics Inc. has completed an upsized, oversubscribed $102 million financing round, the third company to do so in a month that’s only four days old. The privately held company’s lead asset is NRTX-1001, a regenerative cell therapy derived from human pluripotent stem cells.
Sumitomo Pharma Co. Ltd. announced that it will sell off two more of its subsidiaries, Sumitomo Pharma (China) Co. Ltd. and Sumitomo Pharma Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. (and their subsidiaries), to Marubeni Global Pharma Corp. April 1, as the Japanese pharma continues restructuring efforts from last year.
A survey of members of the Bioindustry Innovation Organization (BIO) has exposed what is at stake for the sector, on both sides of the Atlantic, if proposed tariffs are imposed on pharmaceutical imports to the U.S. "A staggering 94% of biotech firms anticipate surging manufacturing costs if tariffs are placed on imports from the EU,” according to BIO.
Nature Cell Co. Ltd. won U.S. FDA breakthrough therapy designation of its autologous adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cell therapy, Jointstem, March 20, becoming the first Korean company to earn the label in the field of cell therapy.
Japanese-founded Regcell Inc. has raised $45.8 million and is redomiciling to the U.S. to accelerate clinical development of its pioneering regulatory T-cell (Treg) platform for autoimmune diseases and transplantation.
Latest findings on Healios K.K.’s stem cell therapy to treat acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), coined Multistem (invimestrocel; HLCM-051), found the regenerative medicine effective in reducing the number of patient days on ventilator treatment, as well as mortality benefits.
The first treatment for macular telangiectasia type 2 is set to enter the market following U.S. FDA approval of NT-501 (revakinagene taroretcel) from Neurotech Pharmaceuticals Inc., a privately held company that has been quietly advancing its encapsulated cell therapy platform for more than two decades.
Several Asia biotechs this week – including Innocare Pharma Ltd., Akeso Pharmaceuticals Inc., Sanbio Co. Ltd. and Ascletis Pharma Inc. – unveiled the start of new late-stage clinical trials or interim findings from early stage studies.
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