Preclinical study on Cynata’s (ASX: CYP) Cymerus™ MSCs for heart disease receives funding - Kalkine Media

Highlights

• St Vincent's Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne has received a grant of AU$1 million to investigate Cynata’s mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in ischaemic heart disease (IHD).
• The study is targeted at expediting the development of a new, safe, and minimally invasive method to deliver the beneficial effects of Cymerus MSCs.
• IHD is a major cause of death globally, and in Australia, it accounts for nearly 12% of all deaths.

Cynata Therapeutics (ASX:CYP), an ASX-listed company focused on developing a proprietary stem cell platform technology, has provided an important update regarding a grant for a pre-clinical study.

The Australian Government National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has conferred a grant of about AU$1 million to fund an important preclinical research project on Cynata's Cymerus™ mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) as a potential treatment for ischaemic heart disease (IHD).

The grant has been provided to St Vincent's Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne (SVIMR) under the NHMRC 2021 MRFF Cardiovascular Health Mission. The project will be headed by Dr Shiang (Max) Lim, Head of Cardiac Regeneration Laboratory, SVIMR and is expected to run for a period of two years.

Cymerus MSCs for the study will be supplied by Cynata at its own cost. Under the investigation, Cymerus MSCs will be encapsulated in a clinical-grade device implanted below the skin (subcutaneously). It is targeted to enable sustained delivery of the bioactive molecules released by the MSCs.

New, safe, and minimally invasive method

The project aims to optimise the encapsulation approach and demonstrate long-term cardiac repair in rat and sheep models of acute myocardial infarction, i.e., heart attack. As per the company, it is projected that these studies would provide for advancement in human clinical trials if successful.

According to Dr Lim, there is an urgent need for novel therapies to avoid the onset of heart failure and enhance survival in patients with IHD. The Cymerus iPSC-based technology can provide unlimited source of consistent MSCs. It is different from the conventional stem cell production methods, which are associated with scale-up and consistency challenges.

Dr Lim further quoted that the project is targeted at expediting the development of a new, safe, and minimally invasive method to deliver the beneficial secretions of Cymerus MSCs to patients and to enable long-term treatment for efficient cardiac repair.

Cynata to partner with multiple leading research institutions

Apart from SVIMR, several other top institutions will also be involved in the project. This includes the University of Adelaide, the University of South Australia, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, the University of Arizona, Duke-National University of Singapore Medical School, Monash University, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, and hearts4heart.

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Image source: CYP website, data source: CYP update 

At the time of writing this article, share price of CYP was AU$0.330, up 3.125% from its last close.