subject: Stem Cell Therapy For Spinal Cord Injury-market Research Report [print this page] Stem Cell Therapy for Spinal Cord Injury report presents 12 R & D stem cell-based product profiles, 10 company profiles and investors information. This report emphasizes advantages and disadvantages of particular cell therapies for spinal cord injury, characteristics and origin of used cells, mechanism of their action, efficacy and adverse effects, mode of delivery, design of clinical trials and result of completed clinical studies.
When considering stem cell therapy, as the new avenue for the treatment of spinal cord injury, it is important to remember that spinal cord is a very complex structure containing a maze of various cells, neuronal extensions, electrical signals and chemical transmissions, presenting extremely difficult task for its regeneration and functional recovery. In addition, injured spinal cord represents one of the most hostile tissue environments for survival and therapeutic effect of transplanted stem and progenitor cells.
Analysis reveals that in the last two years research related to stem cell therapies for the treatment of spinal cord injury had abruptly and significantly shifted from mesenchymal and mesenchymal-like stem cells towards neural stem cells. However, in the commercial R & D pipeline, undergoing development by various companies, the majority (75%) of stem cells used for the treatment of spinal cord injury are mesenchymal stem cells and mesenchymal-like stem cells, which are undifferentiated in 55% of those products. Autologus stem cells, obtained from patients own tissues are used in 66%, embryonic-derived stem cells in 17% and allogenic stem cells in 17% of all stem cell transplantations for the treatment of spinal cord injury. Half of products are in preclinical stage of development and only one is in Phase II clinical trials. Out of 10 companies involved in research and development of stem cell-based therapies for spinal cord injury eight are from the USA, one is from Asia and one is from Europe. None of the major pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies are involved in development of stem cell products for the treatment of spinal cord injury.
In conclusion, this pipeline needs update with introduction of more adult neural stem cells-derived and embryonic stem cells-derived products and more investment by large pharmaceutical companies.
Expects that in the future profiles of stem cells used for the treatment of spinal cord injury will change from mesenchymal and mesenchymal-like stem cells and their progenitor to neural stem/progenitor cells. In addition, biodegradable scaffolds will be preferred mode of delivery of stem cells into injured spinal cord and surrounding tissue.
