TEL-AVIV, Israel, Dec. 16, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cellect Biomed Ltd. (TASE:CLBD) (“Cellect” or the “Company”), a developer of innovative technology which enables the functional selection of stem cells, announced today that it has received institutional review board (IRB) approval (Helsinki Committee) from the Schneider Medical Center in Petah Tikva to conduct a preliminary trial in humans using healthy volunteers. In the trial, cells harvested by apheresis (the same protocol used for bone marrow transplantations (BMT)) will be collected from healthy volunteers and undergo functional selection according to Cellect's unique technology and performed under the same protocols designed for the upcoming clinical trials.
Following the apheresis and selection process, the quantity and quality of cells will be analyzed for safety, stem cell concentrations, and the capacity for creating colonies, all optimized during the product development phase. This procedure will be testing the Company's functional selection technology ("Cellect insideTM") and is the final qualification required to allow transplantations in patients to commence.
The trial will be conducted in the Bone Marrow Transplantation Department of Schneider Hospital by Professor Isaac Yaniv, head of the Department, and Dr. Jerry Stein, according to clinical protocols for the collection of cells for transplantation.
Dr. Shai Yarkoni, Cellect’s CEO, said: “In this healthy volunteers trial, Cellect will test the stem cell selection procedure based on its unique technology as developed so far. Evaluating the Company's functional selection technology, Cellect insideTM, in healthy volunteers represents a significant milestone towards the treatment of leukemia patients."
This preliminary trial will precede Cellect’s clinical trial in patients, which is expected to be conducted in Rambam Medical Center and to include leukemia patients undergoing BMT from a related donor.
About Cellect
Cellect develops an innovative technology which enables the functional selection of stem cells based on their sensitivity to apoptosis. This functional-based selection is an international breakthrough in the ability to isolate stem cells from mature cells, thereby improving a variety of stem cells applications.
The company’s first product line will include unique containers for cell selection in apoptosi s-inducing microenvironment. Cellect has proved in extensive lab studies that the use of apoptosis can largely increase the stem cell concentration in samples taken from bone marrow donors, as well as umbilical cord blood. The first commercial product of the company is a medical kit designed for the cancer treatment bone marrow transplantations market, as well as other markets which require cell selection. The company estimates that in the future its technology will be integrated in many production procedures of stem cell-based product.
Forward-Looking Statements
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