| 06 Oct 2008 |
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Amman-based medical centre pioneers heart research
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Philadelphia BioMed Product Development Centre leads work in cell regeneration treatment after heart attack
www.ascentcompanies.com
Dubai: An Amman-based medical research centre has made a major medical breakthrough in the treatment of potentially life-threatening, heart-related aliments, according to Peggy Farley. Farley is the Managing Director of the General Partner and co-founder of Ascent Medical Technology Funds.
She said that the pre-clinical study involved the use of human Adipose-Derived Stem Cell (hADSC) therapy, which is used for treating patients who have suffered from a heart attack.
Farley explained that study results have revealed evidence of efficient regeneration from hADSCs following an Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI), or a heart attack, as it is more commonly known. The study was led by Dr Mahmoud Abu-Abeeleh, Assistant Professor of Cardiac Surgery at the University of Jordan, School of Medicine.
Dr Abu-Abeeleh said that the study data suggest that hADSCs contribute to the improvement in cardiac histological appearance after a heart attack by having cells within the infarction areas expressing structures of functional (myocardial) cells.
"This study reveals significant results which add to the growing body of investigational evidence supporting the use of hADSCs for the treatment of heart failure. It opens the door to further studies using Bioheart's Tissue Genesis, Incorporated (TGI) System in clinical therapy and preclinical work with adipose-derived stem cells."
He said that the hADSCs used for the study were taken from humans using Bioheart's TGI System for collection of endothelial progenitor cells and stem cells from adipose (fat) tissue. These cells were then injected into the myocardium of nude rats[1] which followed a series of studies and evaluations over 10 to 60 days.
Meanwhile, Howard J. Leonhardt, Bioheart CEO and Chief Technology Officer agreed that the continued progress displayed by Bioheart's TGI System was a significant step.
"These preclinical studies should allow us to obtain an IND approval for the start of a human clinical trial whereby these cells are put to use in patients soon after they have a heart attack."
Ascent's Medical Technology Fund II helped financed the development of the BioMed Centre which was established to bring a medical technology development and manufacturing infrastructure to the Middle East. The Centre's operations meet with the requirements of the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and the European authorities for preclinical and clinical testing of innovative medical products.
The BioMed Centre is also able to test medical innovations emanating from around the world, including the Middle East, to ensure that they meet the highest international standards.
The Centre currently works closely with associate centres of excellence such as the University of Jordan, Jordan University for Science and Technology, a number of Jordan's hospitals and Jordan's Royal Scientific Society.
Farley said that the Philadelphia BioMed Product Development Centre is in fact the only one worldwide to enable preclinical evaluation, full-service clinical research, core lab facilities, as well as cell engineering and culturing.
"With this recent breakthrough we have in fact taken the first step towards widespread product development initiatives, which can only be good for healthcare, worldwide," Farley concluded.
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About Ascent Group
The Ascent Group comprises companies that provide public capital market and private equity market products and services to institutions and high net individuals. Ascent Medical Technology Fund, LP is the first of the two funds dedicated to funding innovative medical device and life science companies.
Peggy A. Farley is a Managing Director of the General Partner and co-founder of the Ascent Medical Technology Funds. She is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Ascent Capital Management, Inc. Karl Groth Ph.D. is a co-founder with Farley of the Ascent Medical Technology Funds and is President and CEO of the General Partner.
Dr. Karl Groth and Peggy Farley have a long history of working together to fund innovation.
The Ascent Medical Technology Fund II, L.P. (the Fund) was established in year 2007. The Fund is dedicated to advancing medical innovation through investing in early-commercialization stage companies based in the U.S. and the Middle East that have technologies sufficiently innovative to effect dramatic changes in the treatment of serious global health issues such as cardiovascular disease and cancer.
The Fund has as a condition for investment the establishment or development by the company in which it invests, whether domiciled in the US or in the Middle East, a sustainable business in the Middle East (manufacturing facility, lab, clinical research organization, etc.) that will itself seed the emergence of a locus of medical technology activity in the Region to enable the Region to eventually compete with the U.S.
Philadelphia BioMed Product Development Centre is the first of its kind medical centre in Jordan & is managed by the newly established company Philadelphia Biological and Medical Product Development Centre Company, PSC. It is a private shareholding company owned by the Ascent Medical Product Development Centre Inc.
The Centre is one of the main four medical innovations launched by Ascent through the initial investments of the Ascent Medical Technology Fund II. Bioheart, Inc., a leader in the realm of cell therapy for heart disease, Heartland Biosciences International, a life science company and Contract Manufacturing Facility for technologically sophisticated products are other three major projects established worldwide under this fund.
The Centre is managed by the newly established company Philadelphia Biological and Medical Product Development Centre Company, PSC. It is a private shareholding company owned by the Ascent Medical Product Development Centre Inc.
ABOUT BIOHEART, INC.
Bioheart, Inc. (Nasdaq: BHRT) is committed to delivering intelligent devices and biologics that help monitor, diagnose and treat heart failure and cardiovascular diseases. Its goals are to improve a patient's quality of life and reduce health care costs and hospitalizations. Specific to biotechnology, Bioheart is focused on the discovery, development and, subject to regulatory approval, commercialization of autologous cell therapies for the treatment of chronic and acute heart damage. Its lead product candidate, MyoCell(R), is an innovative clinical muscle-derived stem cell therapy designed to populate regions of scar tissue within a patient's heart with new living cells for the purpose of improving cardiac function in chronic heart failure patients. The Company's pipeline includes multiple product candidates for the treatment of heart damage, including Bioheart Acute Cell Therapy, an autologous, adipose tissue-derived stem cell treatment for acute heart damage, and MyoCell(R) SDF-1, a therapy utilizing autologous cells that are genetically modified to express additional potentially therapeutic growth proteins. For more information on Bioheart, visit http://www.bioheartinc.com.
For more details visit: www.ascentcompanies.com
For media enquiries:
Susan Furness,
Strategic Solutions for Ascent
Tel.: +9714 3903033,
Mobile: +97150 6556126
Anu Bhatnagar,
Strategic Solutions for Ascent
Tel.: + 9714 3903018,
Mobile: + 97150 7286803
[1] Nude rats lack an immune system which allows for the use of human cells in preclinical studies.
© Press Release 2008
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