BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics
BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics is a biotechnology company developing innovative stem cell therapies derived from autologous bone marrow cells for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease). NurOwn™, the company’s proprietary stem cell technology, induces differentiation of the patient’s mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) into Neurotrophic Factor-secreting cells that are then transplanted into the spine or muscle tissue. These neuron-supporting cells function for protection of existing motor neurons, promotion of motor neuron growth, and re-establishment of nerve-muscle interaction.
BrainStorm was recently fast-tracked by the Israeli Ministry of Health to a Phase IIa clinical trial, currently underway, after reporting positive safety data on the first 12 ALS patients in its Phase I/II trial at Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem. BrainStorm also plans to launch a Phase II ALS clinical trial in the USA in 2013, pending FDA approval. The company holds the rights to develop and commercialize NurOwn through an exclusive, worldwide licensing agreement with Ramot, the technology transfer company of Tel Aviv University.
