ALDAGEN is supporting a Phase I clinical trial performed by clinicians at Duke University Medical School using ALDESORT to isolate stem cells from cord blood.
This on-going clinical study is led by Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg, the director of the Duke Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Program and the Carolinas Cord Blood Bank, a public cord blood bank at Duke University Medical Center. Kurtzberg's team has performed 650 cord blood transplants in children -- more than any other center in the world. In recent years, Kurtzberg has expanded cord blood's application to treat a wide range of genetic diseases, like Krabbe Disease and Hurler Syndrome, which cause progressive physical and cognitive deficits leading to death in early childhood.
ALDESORT isolates a unique population of stem cells from cord blood that are capable of contributing to neutrophil and platelet engraftment and immune reconstitution. The ultimate aim of the clinical study is to determine the feasibility of priming this unique population of stem cells with growth factors to improve the speed and efficacy of cord blood transplantation in the pediatric setting.
Ultimately, stem cells isolated from cord blood by ALDESORT could be used as an "off-the-shelf" therapy for certain tissue repair and regeneration applications.
