Regenerative medicine company Mesoblast Limited has received a key patent from the European Patent Office covering its proprietary adult Mesenchymal Precursor Cells (MPCs) for use in the treatment of cardiac and vascular conditions.

This European patent number EP1613335, entitled ‘Perivascular Mesenchymal Precursor Cell Induced Blood Vessel Formation’, provides Mesoblast with exclusive commercial rights in Europe initially through to March 29, 2024, with potential for extension based on duration of clinical development.

The granted patent covers the use of Mesoblast’s allogeneic or ‘off-the-shelf’ MPCs for cardiac and vascular conditions, including acute myocardial infarction (AMI), congestive heart failure, angina, peripheral arterial disease, and cerebrovascular stroke.

Mesoblast is developing products to treat cardiac and vascular conditions using both highly purified and immunoselected MPCs as well as the culture-expanded Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) they give rise to. These cell types may be effective in cardiovascular disorders by release of factors which can act on target tissues to induce blood vessel formation and enhance vascular flow, prevent heart muscle death, reduce fibrous scar tissue, and modulate key inflammatory cells, including monocytes and T cells.

This new patent significantly extends and broadens Mesoblast’s intellectual property position in European jurisdictions to cover its optimized MPC products for the treatment of cardiac and vascular diseases, beyond the previously granted patents EP1007631 and EP 1062321 which cover allogeneic MSC products for treating damaged heart muscle to improve heart function.

A phase III trial using Mesoblast’s MPCs has commenced in the United States in patients with New York Heart Association class II/III congestive heart failure. Additionally, phase II trials are ongoing in Europe and the United States in patients with AMI using catheter-delivered MPCs and intravenously-delivered MSCs.

Mesoblast Limited is a world leader in the development of biologic products for the broad field of regenerative medicine.