StemCells Inc announced today that it has been awarded a $305,000 grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to research and develop a potential cell-based therapeutic for liver disease arising from infection by the hepatitis C virus (HCV). Hepatitis C is a global health challenge, with approximately 170 million people affected worldwide and an estimated three million new infections each year. The virus targets liver cells and is a leading cause of end-stage liver disease.
The grant will fund work over the next year to investigate whether the Company's proprietary human liver engrafting cells (hLEC) can be made resistant to infection by the hepatitis C virus. The studies will be done in collaboration with Jeffrey Glenn, M.D., Ph.D, Associate Professor of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Glenn is a recognized and widely published expert in hepatitis C, and his research has focused on designing novel antiviral strategies.
"By supporting this project, the NIH recognizes the potential for this novel cell-based approach to combat hepatitis C," said Dr. Maria Millan, M.D., F.A.C.S, Vice President and Head of the Liver Program at StemCells. "Current options to treat HCV are limited. Eventually, many patients need a liver transplant, and even those patients who successfully receive a transplant will ultimately suffer a recurrence of the infection.
Transplanting liver cells that are resistant to HCV infection could address the dual challenges that underlie this intractable disease: to prevent infection and to restore lost function of a damaged liver." This award is a Phase I grant under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program of the National Institutes of Health. Should the objectives of the research funded by this grant be met, the Company anticipates applying for Phase II and additional funding under the SBIR Program.
About hLEC - StemCells, Inc.'s Liver Program is focused on identifying and developing human liver stem and progenitor cells as potential cell-based treatments for damaged or diseased livers. The human liver engrafting cells (hLEC) are a population of cells that are isolated from primary human tissue, engraft in vivo in animals and produce important human proteins that are missing or deficient in liver disease. Because the hLEC are prospectively isolated, they are a defined population of cells with more consistent biochemical and metabolic activity as compared to current hepatocyte preparations. Pre-clinical research findings indicate that the hLEC show promise as a cell-based therapy for the management and treatment of liver diseases.
StemCells, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of cell-based therapeutics to treat diseases of the central nervous system and liver. SOURCE: StemCells, Inc.
