StemCells, Inc., a world leader in the research and development of cell-based therapeutics for the treatment of disorders of the brain, eye and spine, has completed transplantation of the first subject in its Radiant Study at the Retina Foundation of the Southwest. The phase II trial is designed to evaluate both the safety and efficacy of the company's proprietary HuCNS-SC platform technology (purified human neural stem cells) for the treatment of geographic atrophy (GA), the most advanced form of dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
"Initiation of this fellow eye controlled phase II clinical trial re-affirms our leadership in the study of stem cells to treat disorders of the eye," said Joel Naor, vice president of ophthalmology clinical development, at StemCells, Inc. "AMD is a debilitating condition that severely impacts quality of life for millions of people and for which there is currently no treatment. HuCNS-SC cells may have the potential to preserve vision in those affected with dry AMD and possibly other degenerative retinal disorders."
Age-related macular degeneration refers to a loss of photoreceptors (rods and cones) from the macula, the central part of the retina. AMD typically manifests in adults in their 50s or early 60s and gradually progresses to compromise central vision. With an estimated 25-30 million cases worldwide, AMD is the number one cause of severe vision loss and legal blindness in adults over the age of 55. According to the Retina Foundation of the Southwest approximately 18 million Americans age 40 years and older have some form of AMD, and the disease continues to be the number one cause of irreversible vision loss among older adults. There are currently no approved treatments for the dry form of the disease, which afflicts 80-90 percent of AMD patients. The advanced form of dry AMD is referred to as geographic atrophy (GA-AMD).
The StemCells, Inc. Radiant Study is a phase II clinical trial designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of HuCNS-SC human neural stem cells as a treatment for geographic atrophy. The study is enrolling 63 patients between 50-90 years of age with bi-lateral GA-AMD (geographic atrophy associated with age related macular degeneration in both eyes). Designed as a "fellow eye" controlled study, all subjects will receive subretinal transplantation of HuCNS-SC cells via a single injection into the eye with the inferior best-corrected visual acuity; the untreated eye will serve as a control. All patients will be followed for 12 months, with evaluations performed at predetermined intervals to assess safety, anatomic and functional changes. The objective of the trial is to demonstrate a reduction in the rate of disease progression in the treated eye versus the control eye.
StemCells, Inc. has demonstrated human safety data from completed and ongoing clinical studies in which its proprietary HuCNS-SC® cells have been transplanted directly into the brain, the spinal cord and the eye. StemCells, Inc. clinicians and scientists believe that HuCNS-SC cells may have broad therapeutic application for many diseases and disorders of the CNS. Because the transplanted HuCNS-SC cells have been shown to engraft and survive long-term, there is the possibility of a durable clinical effect following a single transplantation. The HuCNS-SC platform technology is a highly purified composition of human neural stem cells (tissue-derived or "adult" stem cells). Manufactured under cGMP standards, the Company's HuCNS-SC cells are purified, expanded in culture, cryopreserved and then stored as banks of cells, ready to be made into individual patient doses when needed.
StemCells, Inc. is currently engaged in clinical development of its HuCNS-SC platform technology (purified human neural stem cells) as a potential treatment for both neurological and retinal disorders.