Stemedica Cell Technologies announced positive results from its Phase I/IIa clinical study for the treatment of ischemic stroke.

Stemedica Cell Technologies, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of allogeneic progenitor cell, protein and combination therapeutics for underserved medical conditions. 

In a multi-center, open-label Phase I/IIa study, ischemic tolerant mesenchymal stem cells (itMSCs) achieved safety, tolerability, and preliminary efficacy objectives. The data demonstrated that itMSCs administered intravenously appeared to be safe and well tolerated. No serious adverse events or clinically significant changes in lab and imaging measurements were reported. Results of the study are supportive of advancing the clinical program.

"Stemedica's Phase I/IIa clinical results demonstrated product safety as well as preliminary efficacy results indicating potentially significant clinical benefits for patients with ischemic stroke," said Dr. Michael Levy, principal investigator in the study, Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego, and Clinical Professor of Surgery at UC San Diego School of Medicine.

"The positive results of this clinical trial give Stemedica important insight into how our hypoxia-induced cGMP-manufactured itMSCs perform within an ischemic environment of stroke brain tissue as it relates to safety and potential efficacy," stated Nikolai Tankovich, M.D. , Ph.D., President and Chief Medical Officer of Stemedica. "These results are also interesting in light of the fact that patients enrolled in the study had a minimum post-stroke time of 6 months at baseline with some patients having suffered a stroke more than 20 years prior to treatment."

Following a meeting with the FDA anticipated in the first half of 2019, Stemedica plans to initiate a Phase IIb trial. Detailed safety data and clinical results from the Phase I/IIa study with itMSCs will be published and presented at a future medical conference.