Mesoblast signs adult stem cells agreement

Feb 14 2005

Australia’s adult stem cell company, Mesoblast Limited, today announced that it had signed an agreement for production of specialised adult stem cells, known as Mesenchymal Precursor Cells (MPCs), to be used in human pilot clinical trials in patients with orthopaedic and cardiovascular diseases.

The MPCs, which efficiently generate new bone, cartilage and blood vessels, will be produced by Cell Therapies Pty Ltd, the commercial arm of the prestigious, Melbourne-based Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, using Mesoblast’s world-leading technology for isolating and culturing MPCs at up to 1000-fold purer levels than existing and competing technologies.

The founder of Mesoblast, Professor Silviu Itescu, said today that the agreement represented an important milestone in Mesoblast’s aggressive commercialisation program to develop effective treatments for those people suffering a range of orthopaedic conditions.

“Mesoblast’s goal is to greatly improve the quality of life for people suffering from bone, cartilage and joint diseases. This agreement will ensure that we can obtain sufficient quantities of MPCs produced under GMP conditions to perform a series of ground breaking pilot clinical trials in Australia.

“Importantly, this agreement also enables Mesoblast to conduct human pilot clinical trials on behalf of United States-based company, Angioblast Systems Inc, in which it holds a 33.3% equity stake. These additional trials will focus on the use of MPCs for the treatment of patients with cardiac and vascular diseases.

“We are delighted to be working with Cell Therapies, an organisation which has considerable expertise and experience in this field,” Professor Itescu said.

Mesoblast Limited is an Australian biotechnology company committed to the development of novel treatments for orthopaedic conditions, including the rapid commercialisation of a unique adult stem cell technology aimed at the regeneration and repair of bone and cartilage.