Osiris reports major gains in stem cell trial

An early-stage trial of a groundbreaking adult stem cell therapy for heart disease has garnered data that suggests it helps patients recover from heart surgery. The procedure relies on stem cells gathered from a donor's bone marrow and delivered to the heart by IV line. Experts say that the procedure is so simple that even community hospitals could adopt the procedure. Two third of the 53 patients in the Phase I study got the stem cell therapy, and the results were dramatic. Patients who received a look-alike therapy were four times more likely to suffer from an irregular heart beat and five times more likely to experience premature contractions. The data was reported at the at the American College of Cardiology meeting in New Orleans over the weekend. Osiris is one of a handful of adult stem cell companies that are widely considered as leaders in the field, with therapies advancing in the clinic. These adult stem cell therapies are poised to become the first approved for use in the U.S., preceding embryonic stem cell therapies by several years. Osiris' therapy relies on a process that takes a single donor's cells and expands them in the lab for thousands of treatments.

- see this press release on the trial
- read the report on the trial results from the Sun-Sentinel

ALSO: Scientists have performed the first U.S. controlled, randomized Phase I clinical trial using a catheter system to deliver muscular stem cells to the heart. Report

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