A U.S. firm will test embryonic stem cells on patients with degenerative blindness as part of the first-ever such study in Europe.
"This is another important milestone for ACT and for the field of regenerative medicine," Gary Rabin, chairman and chief executive of Massachusetts-based ACT, which will conduct the study, said in a statement.
Twelve patients in Britain with Stargardt's macular dystrophy will get the treatment, which uses retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) from human embryonic stem cells. The disease causes RPE cells to degenerate, but researchers will explore whether infusing the body with fresh RPE cells derived from the stem cells will prove effective.
"We are excited to start these trials in Europe, and look forward to analysing the data we continue to collect in our ongoing trials to determine the engraftment and function of the transplanted RPE cells," said Robert Lanza, chief scientific officer at ACT.
ACT and U.S. firm Geron Corp have already conducted similar trials in the United States in people with Stargardt's and those with spinal cord injuries.The Phase I/II clinical trial is an early-stage trial that will test the safety of the RPE cells. Stargardt's affects 80,000 to 100,000 people in the U.S. and Europe.
