Cryo-Cell International, Inc., one of the largest and most established leaders in stem cell innovation announced a research and development collaboration agreement with Monash University in Australia. The partnership will allow scientists from the University’s Centre of Inflammatory Diseases to conduct pre-clinical studies using Cryo-Cell’s proprietary CélleSM menstrual stem cell technology (MenScs) to identify potential future therapies to treat autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis.

Research published in the prestigious American Society of Immunology publication, Journal of Immunology describes how Monash scientists have used a gene therapy strategy to treat autoimmune disease. Autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes affect significant numbers of the population as a result of an individual's immune system attacking its own tissues.

In their research with bone marrow stem cells, Dr James Chan and his colleagues at the University's Centre of Inflammatory Diseases, Faculty of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences (MNHS), developed a strategy that involves the isolation and genetic manipulation of bone marrow cells together with bone marrow transplantation to promote tolerance by the immune system. Bone marrow stem cells are routinely isolated from humans for various disease treatments and may potentially be used to promote tolerance. This approach may offer a viable strategy of manipulating the immune system to remove or control autoreactive cells that would normally be involved in inducing disease.

“Our research collaboration with Cryo-Cell will determine if the stem cells found in menstrual blood may potentially be utilized to manipulate the immune system to remove or control autoreactive cells associated with multiple sclerosis” stated Dr James Chan from MNHS at Monash University. “The menstrual stem cell may potentially provide the added benefit of being highly prolific, non-invasive and cost-effective in the development of future cellular therapies to treat this debilitating autoimmune disease.”

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease in which the body's immune system erodes the protective sheath covering the nerve. As a result, communication between the brain and the body is disrupted. The disease may cause the irreversible deterioration of nerves and in severe cases, individuals may lose the ability to walk or speak. Multiple sclerosis is estimated to affect approximately 2.5 million people worldwide.

The partnership between Cryo-Cell and MNHS will support an exciting new area of research that will investigate potential benefits of a new and non-invasive way to utilize Cryo-Cell’s proprietary menstrual blood stem cell technology to potentially manipulate the immune system to remove or control autoreactive cells that would normally be involved in inducing multiple sclerosis. This concept may further demonstrate potential to reverse established disease.

“We are quite honoured to partner with Dr Chan and Monash University, a world-class globally recognized research institute to explore the potential utilization of Cryo-Cell’s proprietary Célle menstrual stem cell technology in the future development of novel therapies to treat the devastating disease of multiple sclerosis that affects millions of people,” said Mercedes A. Walton, Cryo-Cell’s chairman and CEO. “In the US alone multiple sclerosis statistics show that approximately 250,000 to 350,000 individuals have been diagnosed with this life-impacting disease at an estimated annual cost of in the billions of dollars.”

Cryo-Cell’s expansive intellectual property portfolio is based on the Company’s proprietary menstrual stem cell technology. Célle was introduced in November, 2007 as the first and only service that empowers women to collect and cryopreserve menstrual flow containing undifferentiated adult stem cells for future potential utilization by the donor or possibly first-degree relatives in a manner similar to umbilical cord blood stem cells. Based on the continued success of MenSCs in the research setting, Cryo-Cell is actively expanding its portfolio of research collaborations with world renowned scientists committed to study this novel stem cell population for a broad range of regenerative therapeutic development.

Monash University's Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences is the largest research element at Australia's largest university, with an annual budget excluding philanthropic donations of over $400 million per year.

The CélleSM service was introduced in November 2007 as the first and only service that empowers women to collect and cryopreserve menstrual flow containing undifferentiated adult stem cells for future utilization by the donor or possibly their first-degree relatives in a manner similar to umbilical cord blood stem cells.

Based in Oldsmar, Florida, with nearly 215,000 clients worldwide, Cryo-Cell is one of the largest and most established family cord blood banks. ISO 9001:2008 certified and accredited by the AABB, Cryo-Cell operates in a state-of-the-art Good Manufacturing Practice and Good Tissue Practice (cGMP/cGTP)-compliant facility.