Nov 15 2010
Regenerative medicine company Mesoblast Limited (ASX:MSB; USADR:MBLTY) has announced that positive preclinical trial results were presented at the American Heart Association’s annual conference in Chicago showing that the company’s proprietary “off-the-shelf” stem cells can be injected simply, safely, and effectively into the coronary arteries after a heart attack to prevent heart failure.
On the basis of these results, the company will proceed with multi-center Phase 2 clinical trials of its product Revascor™ delivered by a simple intracoronary infusion in heart attack patients immediately after they undergo a standard angioplasty and stent procedure to open a blocked coronary artery.
The results showed that a simple intracoronary infusion of the patented Mesenchymal Precursor Cells (MPCs) increased blood vessel numbers, prevented scar formation, and significantly improved heart muscle function after a heart attack preventing heart failure.
“These are the most compelling data that I have ever seen regarding a cell therapy approach in cardiovascular disease in the public domain or in non-disclosed data reports,” said the study’s Principal Investigator, Associate Professor Eric Duckers, Head of Molecular Cardiology at the Erasmus Thoraxcenter at Rotterdam in The Netherlands.
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