Sir Martin Evans, the 2007 Nobel laureate who discovered embryonic stem cells, is set to run a new controlled clinical trial of a stem-cell heart treatment in Abu Dhabi. Khaleej Times reports the trial has backing from the Abu Dhabi Department of Health, and if successful, the emirate could become the first place in the world to approve the therapy for wider use.
The treatment, called CLXR-001, uses mesenchymal stem cells drawn from bone marrow and injected directly into heart muscle during coronary artery bypass surgery. Rather than permanently settling in the body, the cells deliver biochemical signals that reawaken dormant heart tissue.
In an earlier trial run by Evans' company, eleven critically ill patients received the experimental injections years ago; ten of them had been given between six months and two years to live, yet most remain alive roughly eight years later. A European Phase IIa trial also recorded statistically significant improvements in heart function, scar tissue reduction and patients' quality of life.
Evans, who founded the UK biotech company Cardiogeni, said Abu Dhabi's regulatory approach compares favourably to what he has encountered elsewhere, calling it "encouraging" rather than restrictive. Full details of the new Abu Dhabi trial are due to be announced on October 23 at the Abu Dhabi Future Health Summit.
Should the new controlled trial replicate the earlier results, Abu Dhabi could emerge as a global hub for stem-cell heart therapy, giving patients across the region earlier access to the treatment.