Stem Cell Cure for Peripheral Vascular Disease on the Horizon
Leading adult stem cell therapy company, TheraVitae, Ltd announces plans to initiate clinical trials to treat Peripheral Vascular Disease using its latest generation of stem cell technology
Bangkok (PRWEB) October 10, 2005 -- TheraVitae, Ltd has announced its intention to begin clinical trials using autologous adult stem cells to treat patients suffering from Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD). The trials are slated for November 2005 and will be held in conjunction with the Vascular Centers at both Chaophya Hospital and Bangkok Hospital.
Peripheral Vascular Disease is a near-pandemic condition that threatens millions with loss of limb; and also life. PVD is the result of narrowing arteries that deprive regions of the body—typically hands, feet, and limbs—of much-needed blood. Stem cell therapy enables patients’ own bodies to repair damaged blood vessels and grow new ones thus restoring blood flow and oxygen to damaged tissue.
TheraVitae will supply its latest generation of Angiogenic Cell Precursors (ACPs) for the trials. TheraVitae takes stem cells from the patient’s own blood, differentiates them into ACPs, and then expands them into a therapeutic dose. The brand name for this new cell population specifically differentiated for treating PVD has not yet been released. TheraVitae CEO Valentin Fulga envisions this new product going into mass-production along with its current product for heart disease, VesCell™ in late 2006. “Our new manufacturing process will allow us to produce our autologous stem cell products at a cost that is much more competitive than other adult stem cell technologies such as bone marrow or cord blood. It will place stem cell therapy within the reach of the middle class”, he said.
The company expects this new treatment to create a revolution in vascular therapy; one that would save tens of thousands of limbs and ultimately, lives a year. “This is an incredibly important treatment,” exclaimed TheraVitae Founder Donald Margolis, “We may very soon have the ability to revascularize tissue. This will not only save, but return function to limbs that many people would have thought doomed to amputation!”
About TheraVitae
TheraVitae is a private, multinational company focused on using stem cells from the patient's own blood in order to treat a variety of disorders, especially cardiovascular diseases. The company has developed a proprietary stem cell technology called VesCell that is currently being used by hospitals in Thailand to treat patients with heart disease. TheraVitae is based in Bangkok, Thailand, Kiryat Weizmann, Israel, and Hong Kong.
http://www.theravitae.com
About VesCell
VesCell consists of a patient’s own adult stem cells harvested from approximately ½ pint of the patient’s own blood and is used to treat heart disorders. Once harvested, the cells are differentiated and expanded in vitro at the TheraVitae laboratories in Israel and are ready for implantation in about one week. The cellular product is a viable alternative for patients who either cannot undergo or choose not to undergo the standard revascularization treatments such as Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG).
http://www.vescell.com
TheraVitae, Ltd.
36/72 PS Tower, 21/Fl.,
Sukhumvit 21, Klongtoey Nua,
Bangkok 10110
Thailand
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