Aggregated News
On Wednesday morning the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine announced a $25-million award to support a spinal cord injury trial. It is the first time that the $3-billion state stem cell funding agency has backed a human clinical trial.
As expected by observers, the award is a loan to Geron Corp., a Menlo Park, Calif.-based biopharmaceuticals firm that has been working on a treatment for spinal cord injuries that is derived from human embryonic stem cells. Geron uses the cells to derive oligodendrocyte progenitor cells. In rats, when these have been injected at the site of spinal cord injuries, they develop into cells that produce myelin, a substance that insulates nerve cells and is necessary for healthy nerve function.
The CIRM-backed trial will examine the treatment's safety, as well as how patients respond to different doses of the cells.
"Supporting the Geron trial is a landmark step for CIRM," CIRM chairman Robert Klein said in a statement.
As the Los Angeles Times reported in 2010, the agency has shifted its focus toward research that will produce cures relatively quickly. In...
As expected by observers, the award is a loan to Geron Corp., a Menlo Park, Calif.-based biopharmaceuticals firm that has been working on a treatment for spinal cord injuries that is derived from human embryonic stem cells. Geron uses the cells to derive oligodendrocyte progenitor cells. In rats, when these have been injected at the site of spinal cord injuries, they develop into cells that produce myelin, a substance that insulates nerve cells and is necessary for healthy nerve function.
The CIRM-backed trial will examine the treatment's safety, as well as how patients respond to different doses of the cells.
"Supporting the Geron trial is a landmark step for CIRM," CIRM chairman Robert Klein said in a statement.
As the Los Angeles Times reported in 2010, the agency has shifted its focus toward research that will produce cures relatively quickly. In...