Mr BN Manohar, CEO of Stempeutics said, “Current OA treatments are more symptomatic in nature whereas Stempeucel® drug has a potential to address the root cause of the disease. In Phase III trial we are going to administer Stempeucel® using ultrasound guidance and use new MRI techniques called T2 mapping to assess the quality of articular cartilage and also to assess the quantitative analyses of articular cartilage. We are extremely happy to collaborate with Alkem in developing Stempeucel® for OA treatment”.
Speaking on the licensing deal with Alkem, Dr Raviraja, Director Business Development, Stempeutics, said “We are progressing well towards our goal of bringing the first stem cell based product for OA treatment in India in the near future. Allogeneic Stem Cell therapy currently dominates the Global Stem Cells Market with a share of almost 63% compared to the autologous market (37%). The potential for stem cell therapy market in India is approx. US$ 540 million and expected to grow rapidly. While the opportunity is good, it is important that the stem cell therapy is affordable for the common man. Therefore our focus is on to develop innovative production techniques for up scaling and making the product affordable”.
About Osteoarthritis:
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common and debilitating chronic degenerative disease of large joints, especially the hip and knee, characterized by a loss of articular cartilage, subchondral sclerosis, and marginal osteophyte formation. Worldwide, approximately 9.6% of men and 18% of women aged ≥60 years have symptomatic osteoarthritis. Current treatment in early-stage OA includes weight reduction, quadriceps strengthening exercises, nonsteroidal anti- inflammatory drugs, intra-articular (IA) glucocorticoid injections, viscosupplements, and bracing. Total joint arthroplasty is the mainstay treatment for end-stage OA of the knee joint, which is often associated with serious and life-threatening complications including increased risk of infection. Currently, cell therapy and tissue engineering-based approaches are being used to address the issue of repair of damaged articular cartilage. Allogeneic MSCs are rapidly emerging as an investigational product for cartilage repair. The anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties of MSCs suggest that these cells can reduce inflammation and pain reduction in the knee.
