Stroke Study to Begin in Denmark

Stroke Study to Begin in Denmark

Stem Cell Therapeutics Corp., which is based in Calgary, Canada and Medicon A/S of Birkerod, Denmark announced today that they have received approval to begin the Phase I Clinical Study in SCT's NTx-265 program for the treatment of stroke. The press release says that the study will begin in the “near future,” with a duration of eight weeks.

NTx-265 is not actually derived from stem cells. Instead, it is a pharmacological combination of several agents which work to stimulate the body’s own production of stem cells. In an interview with the Wall Street Reporter (PDF) last January, Joseph Tucker, the CEO of Stem Cell Therapeutics, described the drug in more detail and how it works. It has already been approved for use in humans in other applications besides stroke.

Stem Cell Limitations in Missouri

Stem Cell Limitations in Missouri

The Jefferson City News Tribune reported today (an AP story) that the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, which is located in Kansas City, is sending funding out of state for hESC research. The Institute has created a separate entity, the Stowers Medical Institute, to perform the research. One of the scientists at the new Institute was quoted as saying that he considered moving to Missouri but decided not to because the of the possibility that his research might later be criminalized. He is presently based at Harvard.

See “Stem Cells May be on Missouri Ballot,” posted on this blog on 10/11/05 and “Missouri Governor Supports Embryonic Stem Cell Research,” 10/26/05, for more on the current situation in Missouri.

Research Limitations in Connecticut

Research Limitations in Connecticut

The federal funding restrictions on hESC research is having an impact on researchers at the University of Connecticut. State finding has been authorized for stem cell research in Connecticut, but the limitations on federal funding are causing issues regarding where the research can take place. According to an article in the Hartford Courant, university officials are looking for private laboratory space to lease or buy that is separate from the University’s Center for Regenerative Biology, which was dedicated in 2003 and cost $20 million. They want to make sure no research on new hESC lines is conducted in buildings that receive federal funding.

The head of the center, Xiangzhong "Jerry" Yang, objects to the possibility of finding a new location, saying it would be impossible to oversee research not located in the Center. Yang is a leading proponent of SCNT technology and hopes to create human embryonic stem cells through cloning by the spring. Yang has a personal stake in the issue, as he has cancer. (The Connecticut Business Journal reported on Yang’s background and interest last month.)

The Courant also reported that Laura Grabel, a professor of natural sciences at Wesleyan University, is unsure whether she can perform her research in buildings that receive federal funding. Grabel wants to work on newer hESC lines. She will be speaking today in a panel discussion at Connecticut College, along with several other scholars.

The existing federally-funded hESC lines have been contaminated with mouse cells, leading some researchers to declare them useless.