New Year, new vaccines. And praise the universe for that! With the roll out of the vaccines, the dark shadows of the pandemic are beginning to lift. We can see the promised post-COVID-19 sunny uplands on the horizon. Three vaccines have so far been approved variously in the EU, US and UK. These are from...
Human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are a promising candidate for cell-based transplantation and regenerative medicine therapies. Thus in the present study Wharton’s Jelly Mesenchymal Stem Cells (WJ-MSCs) have been derived from extra embryonic umbilical cord matrix following removal of both arteries and vein. Also, to overcome the clinical limitations posed by fetal bovine serum (FBS)...
A recent market survey on stem cells in research and drug discovery showed that despite a significant amount of hype and hope around stem cells, most drug discovery-related efforts today still fall into the category of basic research and the majority of that was directed towards the oncology/cancer disease area. Human-derived stem cells were of...
“COVID-19” is the word that certainly isn’t forgotten by everybody who lives in the first half of the twenty-first century. COVID-19, as a pandemic, has led many researchers from different biomedical fields to find solutions or treatments to manage the pandemic. However, no standard treatment for this disease has been discovered to date. Probably, preventing...
You may have heard that the stem cells in your baby’s umbilical-cord blood can save lives, but if you’re like most people, you have only a vague notion of how stem cells work — or which diseases they can treat. Right now, certain cancers, blood disorders, and immune disorders, among other conditions, are being successfully...
Continued positive news in the fight against COVID-19 continues with the publication of promising results of a clinical trial investigating newborn stem cells as a therapeutic intervention. Despite the promise brought by FDA approval of multiple vaccines, daily COVID-19 hospitalizations and fatality reports act as a stark reminder of the need to rapidly develop...
What are the key takeaways from this study? The primary objective of the study was to evaluate the safety of umbilical cord blood stem cells as treatment for COVID-19, whilst also looking at potential efficacy. This was a double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 1/2a clinical trial, where each patient received two infusions of either mesenchymal stem cells...
Mesoblast Ltd. soars after getting a vote of confidence from large pharmaceutical backer Novartis AG on a stem cell medicine that was panned by U.S regulators just a month before. Novartis will pay an initial $25 million and invest another $25 million in Mesoblast stock in a deal securing global rights for remestemcel-L. The stem...
PITTSBURGH – Researchers at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh found that infusing umbilical cord blood — a readily available source of stem cells — safely and effectively treated 44 children born with various non-cancerous genetic disorders, including sickle cell, thalassemia, Hunter syndrome, Krabbe disease, metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) and an array of immune deficiencies. This is the largest trial of its...
