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Inflammatory and immune diseases occur in many different forms, and range in severity from inconvenient and irritating to debilitating and life threatening. Common conditions involving immune system dysfunction include diabetes, allergies, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), immune deficiency disorders, inflammatory bowel disease (e.g., Crohn’s, Ulcerative Colitis), lupus, graft versus host disease (GVHD), dermatological conditions (e.g., psoriasis, eczema), pelvic inflammatory disease, pulmonary conditions, scleroderma, transplant rejection, vasculitis and a range of others. According to the NIH, there are more than 80 different recognized types of autoimmune disease. Collectively, these conditions affect many millions of individuals in the U.S. and the rest of the world, and represent a substantial healthcare and socioeconomic burden.
Just as there are a broad range of different diseases and conditions involving the immune system, there are a wide range of different therapeutic approaches that have been developed to address these conditions, including commonly utilized non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs), corticosteroids, immunosuppressive drugs (e.g., cyclosporine, cyclophosphamide, prednisolone, tacrolimus), biologics (e.g., IFN-β , anti-TNFα therapies, IFN-β), and others. Despite the range of therapies currently available, treatments that are consistently safe and effective are lacking for many indications, and many become less effective (or ineffective) after prolonged use. There is no recognized cure for chronic autoimmune disease.
MultiStem® has shown great potential for reducing inflammation and modulating immune system function, based on preclinical studies in several areas. Mechanistically, MultiStem has demonstrated the ability to dynamically interact with and regulate other cell types (e.g. activated T cells, microglia, macrophages), and relevant organs that play a key role in the inflammatory process (e.g. the spleen). In addition, MultiStem has been shown to regulate key signaling pathways that are known to be involved in the inflammatory process, such as cell surface adhesion molecules that regulate the trafficking of activate immune cells into regions of tissue damage and inflammation, as well as other key immune mediators (e.g., TNFα ).
We are developing MultiStem for multiple indications in the inflammatory and immune disease areas, including treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), Graft versus Host Disease (GVHD), and evaluating the potential for other indications including solid organ transplantation and diabetes. We believe that since MultiStem has shown the potential to regulate immune system function and reduce inflammation in a variety of preclinical models, that it may have broad relevance toward the treatment of inflammatory and immune conditions.
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