Feb 23, 2017

Positive Results From Pre-Clinical Studies Sponsored by CardioCell Post in the American Heart Association’s Journal “Circulation Research”

SAN DIEGO — Feb. 23, 2017 — Results from an acute myocardial infarction and an ischemic cardiomyopathy pre-clinical study sponsored by CardioCell LLC, a global biotechnology company that uses allogeneic stem cells for cardiovascular indications, are the subject of a peer-reviewed paper published in the American Heart Association’s journal “Circulation Research.” Entitled “Intravenously-Delivered Mesenchymal Stem Cells: Systemic Anti-Inflammatory Effects Improve Left Ventricular Dysfunction in Acute Myocardial Infarction and Ischemic Cardiomyopathy,” the paper co-authors include CardioCell’s Scientific Advisory Board member Dr. Stephen E. Epstein, as well as board directors Sergey Sikora, Ph.D., and Nikolai I. Tankovich, M.D., Ph.D. Additional authors include Dror Luger, Michael J. Lipinski, Peter C. Westman, David K. Glover, Julien DiMastromatteo, Juan C. Frias, M. T. Albelda, Alex Kharazi, Grigory Vertelov and Ron Waksman.
Available online via subscription or for purchase, the paper explores whether intravenously administered MSCs reduce left-ventricle (LV) dysfunction in cases of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and ischemic cardiomyopathy using murine models. The studies also observe if these effects are caused — at least partly— by systemic anti-inflammatory activities. The AMI results demonstrate the MSC protocol attenuates the progressive deterioration in LV function and adverse remodeling in mice with large infarcts. In addition, the ischemic cardiomyopathy results show improved LV function. In both studies, the effects are apparently modulated in part by systemic anti-inflammatory activities.
“It is a privilege to have our study published in ‘Circulation Research,’ as this is the premier cardiac research journal,” says Dr. Stephen Epstein, Director, Translational and Vascular Biology Research at MedStar Heart and Vascular Institute and paper senior author. “Our results indicate — contrary to prior assumptions — that intravenously administered MSCs exert marked improvement in cardiac function after acute myocardial infarction and in ischemic cardiomyopathy. Thus, not only do these cells have the capacity to improve cardiac function in these conditions, but also the MSCs do not require catheter-based direct delivery to the heart — improvement occurs by the systemic effects of intravenous delivery. If pivotal clinical trials demonstrate similar effects, the results would fundamentally transform current paradigms used for stem cell therapeutics — from the impractical, catheter-based delivery model to intravenous delivery, which is easily adapted to clinical situations.”
Featured in these pre-clinical studies, CardioCell’s therapies use itMSCs, which are exclusively licensed from Stemedica. Unlike MSCs grown under normoxic conditions, bone-marrow-derived, allogeneic itMSCs are grown under hypoxic conditions. In vivo experiments demonstrate cells that are exposed to hypoxic conditions show greater homing and engraftment than cells grown under normoxic conditions. Compared to MSCs manufactured under normal oxygen condition, itMSCs secrete higher levels of growth factors and other important proteins associated with neoangiogenesis and healing.
About CardioCell
Founded in San Diego, California, in 2013, CardioCell LLC is a global biotechnology company that explores therapeutic applications of unique, patented, ischemia-tolerant mesenchymal stem cells manufactured under cGMP conditions. CardioCell is a subsidiary of Stemedica Cell Technologies Inc., a global biotechnology company that manufactures adult allogeneic stem cells. The company’s technology is based on more than 30 years of research and clinical experience conducted by scientists and physicians in the United States and Europe. CardioCell therapies offer a unique, proprietary technology based on the expansion of cells in constant hypoxia. The company has an exclusive, worldwide license from Stemedica to explore therapeutic indications for unmet cardiovascular needs, such as acute myocardial infarction, chronic heart failure and peripheral artery disease. For more information, visit www.stemcardiocell.com.