Regenerative medicines developerSanBio Group has acquired patent portfolio related to cell medicines derived from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs).
Image: Image of technology of MSC1 and MSC2. Photo: courtesy of Business Wire.
The patent portfolio includes technology discovered by Aline Betancourt, a researcher at Tulane University.
Betancourt’s technology optimizes anti-inflammatory and pro-inflammatory functions of MSCs by activating specific Toll-like receptors (TLRs) expressed on mesenchymal stem cell membranes without affecting safety and tolerability profile of mesenchymal stem cells.
Mesenchymal stem cells induced to have enhanced anti-inflammatory function (MSC2 phenotype), while those induced to have reinforced pro-inflammatory function (MSC1 phenotype) using the technology are expected to shift to injury sites and express higher homogeneity compared against naïve and uninduced mesenchymal stem cells.
The MSC2 phenotype is said to have therapeutic potential against demyelinating disorders such as optic neuritis, multiple sclerosis and Krabbe disease, and inflammatory disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s disease, as well as diabetic neuropathy.
Pre-clinical studies showed that MSC1 phenotype has attenuated tumor growth as opposed to uninduced mesenchymal stem cells that promote proliferation of tumor cells.
At present, SanBio is carrying out phase 2 clinical trials of regenerative cell medicine SB623, which is targeting chronic motor deficit from ischemic stroke in the US and chronic motor deficit from traumatic brain injury (TBI) in Japan.
SB623 is composed of mesenchymal stem cells derived from adult bone marrow, which undergo a genetic modification.
It is a stem cell-based therapy that holds capacity to promote brain tissue regeneration, which allows patients with ischemic stroke or TBI recover lost functions when administered to the area around the injury site.
As part of animal studies, when B623 was administered to brains of mouse models of ischemic stroke, circumstances such as migration of neural stem cells to injury sites, proliferation of nerve cells, and angiogenesis have been noticed.
The acquired patent portfolio will allow SanBio to expand its development pipeline into areas of inflammatory disorders and cancer, as well as neurological disorders targeted by SB623.
SanBio is also focusing to develop new cell medicines based on the acquired patent portfolio.