Date: 2016-12-27
Type of information: Collaboration agreement
Compound: Placental eXpanded (PLX)-R18 cells
Company: Pluristem Therapeutics (Israel) New York Blood Center (USA - NY)
Therapeutic area: Transplantation
Type agreement: collaboration
Action mechanism: cell therapy. PLX-R18 is designed to treat bone marrow that is unable to produce enough blood cells due to a variety of causes including ARS, certain cancers or cancer treatments, or immune-mediated bone marrow failure. Pluristem received FDA clearance to initiate a U.S. Phase I trial of PLX-R18 in incomplete bone marrow recovery following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Preclinical data from trials conducted by Hadassah Medical Center, the National Institutes of Health and other prominent research institutions have shown that PLX-R18 cells secrete a range of specific proteins that trigger the regeneration of bone marrow hematopoietic stem cells, thereby supporting the recovery of blood cell production. The NIH’s NIAID is supporting and conducting trials of PLX-R18 as a treatment for ARS, a severe, life-threatening condition caused by exposure to high levels of radiation such as would occur with a nuclear catastrophe. With its capabilities, PLX-R18 could potentially treat a broad range of hematologic indications, which together constitute a substantial global market.
Disease: umbilical cord blood transplantation
Details: * On December 27, 2016, Pluristem Therapeutics announced that it will collaborate with the New York Blood Center (NYBC) on preclinical studies of its Placental eXpanded (PLX)-R18 cells to enhance the efficacy of umbilical cord blood (UCB) transplantation. The project has been selected to receive a conditional award of $900,000 from Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation (BIRD). Per the terms of the project, Pluristem will provide the PLX-R18 cells and the NYBC will be responsible for conducting and supporting the studies.
Support for the transplantation of CD34+ cells from umbilical cord blood constitutes the third potential hematologic indication for PLX-R18. The FDA has cleared a Phase I clinical trial of PLX-R18 in the treatment of insufficient hematopoietic recovery following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation; the transplanted cells in this study can originate from bone marrow, peripheral blood, or umbilical cord blood. In addition, the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) is currently conducting a dose-evaluation study of PLX-R18 in large animals, in advance of a possible pivotal trial for PLX-R18 in the treatment of Acute Radiation Syndrome (ARS) via the Animal Rule regulatory pathway. Human efficacy studies will not be required for FDA approval.
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