Canada OKs World's 1st Stem Cell Therapy

Prochymal may ease complication from bone marrow transplants
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted May 19, 2012 1:59 PM CDT
Canada OKs World's 1st Stem Cell Therapy
Doctors perform a bone marrow harvest.   (Shutterstock)

Canada has approved the world's first stem cell treatment for a systemic disease, Reuters reports. This week, the nation's health regulators allowed doctors to use the drug Prochymal for children with graft-versus host disease (GvHD), a sometimes deadly side-effect from bone marrow transplants. GvHd kills up to 80% of afflicted children and has no approved treatment thus far.

Some analysts doubted Prochymal's effect, noting that it accomplished no more than a placebo in two late-stage clinical trials. But regulators liked the way it helped a certain subgroup of patients, who saw an improvement in 61% to 64% of cases. The drug also improved survival rates across the board when compared with a a history of GvHD patients. A US company called Osiris makes the drug, and plans to seek FDA approval by the end of the year. (More stem cell research stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X