Osiris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSIR) today announced that data from a 53-patient double-blind, placebo controlled trial studying the treatment of heart attack patients with Prochymal, a proprietary formulation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), as well as research on the underlying mechanism of action of MSCs for cardiac repair, will be presented at the 2010 BMT Tandem Meeting. Joshua M. Hare, M.D., Louis Lemberg Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) and Director of the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, will present the data during a session entitled “Cardiac Stem Cell Therapy” on Thursday, February 25. Results from the study were recently published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC).
“Patients receiving Prochymal did better than those receiving only standard-of-care”
“Patients receiving Prochymal did better than those receiving only standard-of-care,” said Dr. Hare, lead author of the JACC publication. “They had fewer side effects and significant improvements in heart, lung and global function compared to the placebo group. The efficacy seen in this well-controlled trial represents an important step forward in the search for stem cell treatments for heart disease. With a strong safety profile that now includes more than 1,000 patients studied in clinical trials, mesenchymal stem cells are in a position to make significant advances in the field of cardiology.”
The study demonstrates that treatment with Prochymal was safe in cardiac patients with recent heart attacks. Additionally, Prochymal significantly improved cardiac function and patient global symptom score, and reduced cardiac arrhythmias (irregular heartbeat), compared to placebo. The abstract and full-length manuscript are available online at the JACC’s website. Based on these positive findings, a larger Phase II study in patients who have recently experienced severe acute myocardial infarction is underway.
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