Medistem Inc. (PINKSHEETS: MEDS) announced it has entered into a commercialization agreement with the Indianapolis-based company, General Biotechnology LLC, for sale of its universal donor Endometrial Regenerative Cells (ERC) as a research reagent to qualified academic and corporate institutions.
Under the agreement General Biotechnology will harvest menstrual blood from qualified donors, isolate research-grade ERC stem cells, expand and qualify said stem cells and provide a distribution mechanism through its sales network.
“Medistem is a unique company in the area of cellular therapeutics in that its universal donor stem cells have already been used to treat humans,” said Dr. Erik Woods, President and CEO of General Biotechnology LLC. “By making these cells commercially available, scientists around the world will have the ability to compare these cells to existing adult stem cells such as placental, cord blood, and adipose mesenchymal stem cells.”
To date Medistem has reported the use of ERC in treatment of patients with Multiple Sclerosis, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, and Heart Failure.
“Since we originally reported the discovery of Endometrial Regenerative Cells in 2007, at least 4 independent groups have used and published on cells with identical or near-identical properties to treat animals with diabetes, Parkinson’s, stroke, and heart failure,” said Dr. Vladimir Bogin, Chairman and President of Medistem. “Given our intellectual property position on these cells, we are confident that by increasing their use in the scientific community we will accelerate our own development efforts, as well as advance the field forward.”
Dr. Michael Murphy, a Harvard-trained vascular surgeon who performs clinical trials using adult stem cells at Indiana University, stated, “The ERC stem cell population represents a treatment for vascular diseases that is novel, highly potent, and easy to integrate into the current standard of care. I am eager to initiate clinical investigations with these cells in treatment of critical limb ischemia.”
Dr. Murphy is the Principle Investigator for an IND filed with the FDA for treatment of critical limb ischemia with Medistem’s ERC stem cells.
Source: Medistem Inc.