Pluristem Therapeutics Inc., a biotech company specializing in the commercialization of allogeneic adult stem cell therapy for degenerative, ischemic and autoimmune diseases, has been selected to present at the First Annual Israeli Presidential Conference entitled, “Facing Tomorrow”, to be held from May 13 -15 in Jerusalem. A total of 60 presenters were selected from among hundreds of candidates in the sciences, the arts, and business, all of whom represent inventions and innovative ideas that have been developed by Israeli individuals and which have the potential “to revolutionize the future”, in the words of Conference representatives. According to Pluristem’s President and CEO, Dr. Zami Aberman, “Pluristem is pleased to be invited to this high level international conference to present its business and products in development to world-renowned business leaders, technology thought leaders and entrepreneurs.”

A number of world leaders in the arts, the sciences, business and politics will attend the Conference, including U.S. President George W. Bush, Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Former President of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev, Former U.S. Secretary of State Dr. Henry Kissinger, New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman, Chairman and CEO of News Corporation Rupert Murdoch, and Harvard Law Professor Dr. Alan Dershowitz.

Pluristem Therapeutics is currently developing a variety of novel adult stem cell products in their pipeline which are derived from the human placenta. As such, the products are strictly non-embryonic and non-controversial. The products consist of expanded placental mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) which are immune-privileged and which exhibit immunomodulatory properties. For the expansion of these MSCs, Pluristem uses a proprietary 3-dimensional bioreactor which is modeled after the natural microstructure of bone marrow matrix. Their main product in development, PLX-PAD, is targeted toward those millions of people who suffer from peripheral artery disease (PAD). Other products include PLX-1, which improves the engraftment of hematopoietic stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood, and PLX-Stroke which is for the treatment of ischemic stroke, and PLX-MS which is for the treatment of multiple sclerosis.

At the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research (INSERM), scientists have discovered the presence of neural stem cells in the human spinal cord. Although neural stem cells had previously been discovered in the brain and spinal cord of adult rodents several years ago, this marks the first discovery of neural stem cells in human brains and spinal cords. Such a discovery corroborates new supporting evidence that the human central nervous system (CNS) is in fact capable of regeneration – a radical idea which shatters the previously revered, though incorrect, dogma that the CNS is incapable of regeneration.

Using electron microscopy to detect neural precursor cell markers, the researchers at INSERM were able to identify and isolate adult neural stem cells from the human spinal cord. The stem cells were then cultured in vitro and found to differentiate into both neurons and glial cells. Research is now focused on the use of such endogenous neural stem cells in the treatment of neurodegenerative and demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis and ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or “Lou Gehrig’s disease”), as well as in the treatment of spinal cord injury (SCI). It is currently estimated that approximately a third of a million people throughout Europe, and a quarter of a million people in the U.S., suffer from SCI, with approximately 10,000 new cases occurring each year in each of these demographic regions. The majority of people who suffer SCIs are betweeen the ages of 25 and 30, and the resulting paralysis has often been regarded as permanent and irreversible.

Now, however, new hope is available as a reult of this important discovery that neural stem cells naturally reside within the CNS. According to Dr. Alain Privat, Research Director at INSERM, “This work constitutes a major step forward for all the pathologies affecting the motoneurons for which no treatment exists at the present time.”

The research was funded by the RESCUE (Research Endeavor for Spinal Cord in United Europe) Project, which in turn is funded by the European Commission FP6 Research Progrramme. RESCUE is a consortium of stem cell biologists and experts in spinal cord pathology from 9 European research centers, the mission of which is to advance novel stem cell therapies for spinal cord injury toward clinical trials. Known technically as translational medicine, such a process involves “translating” the results of experimental laboratory studies into clinical therapeutic paradigms. RESCUE researchers are dedicated to the implementation of such translational medical procedures specifically as applied to new therapeutic protocols for the treatment of SCI.

Pluristem Therapeutics Inc., which specializes in the commercialization of therapeutic products developed exclusively from adult mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) that are derived from the human placenta, has announced positive results with the use of one of its products in a pre-clinical animal study of multiple sclerosis. PLX-MS, which Pluristem is developing specifically for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, was tested in the EAE (experimental autoimmune encephalitis) animal model, which typically serves as the standard research paradigm for multiple sclerosis in humans. After EAE was induced in the animals, some of the animals were given PLX-MS while others served as controls. The animals that had received PLX-MS were found to show a statistically significant improvement in their EAE scores, which lasted throughout the entire 25-day duration of the study, when compared to the controls.

According to Dr. Zami Aberman, President and CEO of Pluristem, “We are very excited that our PLX cells were able to demonstrate beneficial results that are statistically significant in this standardized model for multiple sclerosis. These results, in addition to our previously announced PLX-Stroke results, demonstrate that PLX cells may be useful in the treatment of central nervous system disorders and may potentially help millions of people. Additionally, we believe this experiment demonstrates that we can potentially utilize our off-the-shelf, easy-to-obtain PLX cells and achieve results that are as good as or better than MSCs obtained from other more difficult-to-find sources.”

Multiple sclerosis, one of the demyelinating diseases, is a disorder of the central nervous system and is generally considered to be of autoimmune origin. According to recent estimates from the World Health Organization, over 2.5 million people around the world currently suffer from multiple sclerosis. Prior to adult stem cell research such as these studies conducted by Pluristem, multiple sclerosis has previously been considered incurable and irreversible. Now, however, adult stem cells and regenerative medicine offer a new type of therapeutic modality and, therefore, also new hope.

Currently in the state of Colorado, there are only three hospitals in which the systematic collection of umbilical cord blood is routinely performed after the delivery of babies. In all the rest of the hospitals throughout the state, as in most other states, this precious source of pluripotent stem cells is discarded as waste. Democratic House Representative Dianne Primavera sees this as “an opportunity to turn medical waste into a medical miracle.” Indeed, patients such as Sheila Gannon agree. Diagnosed with advanced leukemia over two years ago, Sheila received an adult stem cell transplant from donated umbilical cord blood. As she stated in her testimony before the State House Health and Human Services Committee, “We are extremely grateful for this technology and for the medical community that administers it. I often think about the moms who graciously donate their umbilical cord blood. There is no doubt that without this I would not be here today.”

Many others enthusiastic advocates joined Representative Primavera and Ms. Gannon in supporting what is known as House Bill 1372, which, if ratified, would create the Adult Stem Cell Cure Fund: a voluntary income tax checkoff that would appear on future state income tax forms, revenue from which would promote the proper collection and storage of umbilical cord blood throughout the state of Colorado.

As Representative Primavera described, she sees an analogy between the umbilical cord as a “lifeline for a baby” and a lifeline for someone with a disease such as cancer or multiple sclerosis. As Sheila Gannon added, “I cannot think of a better way to pay it forward than to give all women the opportunity to donate the baby’s umbilical cord blood.” Doctors testifying before the Committee stated that there are roughly 80,000 births each year in Colorado, less than 1% of which currently result in a cord blood donation. If House Bill 1372 is passed, it is hoped that the money raised by the income tax checkoff could be used both for promoting education on the topic as well as for the actual cryogenic storage of donated cord blood, possibly for as long as 20 years for each donation. According to Dr. Chris Carey, who runs the OB-Gyn department at the Denver Health Medical Center, “It is my belief that this bill offers a tremendous opportunity to improve the health of Coloradans for a relatively small expense.”

Thus far, the new measure has passed the Committee unanimously. Next, it advances to the House Appropriations Committee.

More than 5 million people in the U.S. alone are currently afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease, and the global number is increasing dramatically each year. Now, researchers at the University of South Florida, in collaboration with Saneron CCEL Therapeutics, Inc., an affiliate of Cryo-Cell International, have demonstrated the ability of cord blood stem cells to slow the progression of this debilitating disease.

In this study, mice with symptoms mimicking those of Alzheimer’s were treated with a series of infusions containing stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood. The scientists then tested the mice for the two main markers of Alzheimer’s, and found that the myloid-beta proteins had been reduced by 62%, and cerebral amyloid angiopathy had been reduced by 86%. Currently, Alzheimer’s disease is considered to be irreversible since an effective conventional medical therapy does not exist. This study, however, demonstrates that Alzheimer’s disease can in fact be reversed with the potency of certain types of adult stem cells such as those derived from umbilical cord blood.

Although conservative groups often promote the use of adult stem cells over embryonic stem cells for ethical reasons, scientists are increasingly turning to adult stem cells over embryonic stem cells purely for scientific reasons. Increasingly, studies such as this indicate significant success with adult stem cells while embryonic stem cells still remain plagued with numerous unsolved scientific problems. According to Mercedes Walton, Chairman and CEO of Cryo-Cell International, an organization of cord blood banks which funded the study, “The scientific community has only skimmed the surface in uncovering the many potential therapeutic uses for cord blood stem cells, and this new research in Alzheimer’s disease may pave the way for discoveries around the use of these cells for a host of neurodegenerative and other chronic conditions.”

According to Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse, a senior fellow in economics at the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty, “The use of umbilical cord blood is more humane than the use of embryos for two reasons. First, no human life has to be destroyed to produce the umbilical cord blood. Second, the use of umbilical cord blood will undoubtedly be less costly than the use of embryonic stem cells. The supply of umbilical cords is pretty much umlimited.”

Ever since 2004 when a South Korean woman who had been paralyzed for 20 years was able to walk again following cord blood stem cell therapy which repaired the damaged tissue in her spine, this particular source of adult stem cells has been a topic of of intense interest by numerous researchers and clinicians around the world. According to Cryo-Cell, cord blood offers one of the most viable sources of stem cells, as cord blood has already been used in over 7,000 transplantations since 1988, and stem cells derived from cord blood have been clinically administered to human patients for the treatment of more than 70 life-threatening illnesses, which include cardiac injury, neurological injury, type I diabetes, type II diabetes, leukemia, multiple sclerosis, and numerous other types of diseases and injuries.

Next, Alzheimer’s disease may also be added to the list.