To develop its ENT-576 laser device for COPD treatment
Entest Biomedical has filed a grant application with the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) for the development of its ENT-576 laser device to be used in treating Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). If the company’s application gets approval, the NHLBI could provide grant funding of approximately $500,000 to Entest.
Grant funding will accelerate the process of developing the company’s patent pending laser-based therapeutic platform to enhance efficacy levels in stem cell therapy among patients with COPD. Entest’s patent-pending approach revolves around the use of the patient’s own stem cells in combination with specific laser wavelengths in repairing damaged lung tissue of patients with COPD, said the company.
Both components of the ENT-576 product have previously been clinically used for other indications. The company believes it can get this technology to market quickly making regenerative therapy finally available to COPD patients.
David Koos, chairman and CEO of Entest Biomedical, said: “We are excited about the outlook for our Laser Device (ENT-576). The Entest approach involves administration of an FDA-approved drug that releases stem cells from the bone marrow followed by administration of optimized laser energy into lung tissue. We believe this treatment to be relatively non-invasive compared to other stem cell therapies involving cell extraction and manipulation.”