Lentiviral haemopoietic stem/progenitor cell gene therapy for treatment of Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome: interim results of a non-randomised, open-label, phase 1/2 clinical study.

Background: Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome is a rare, life-threatening, X-linked primary immunodeficiency characterised by microthrombocytopenia, infections, eczema, autoimmunity, and malignant disease. Lentiviral vector-mediated haemopoietic stem/progenitor cell (HSPC) gene therapy is a potentially curative treatment that represents an alternative to allogeneic HSPC transplantation. Here, we report safety and efficacy data from an interim analysis of patients with severe Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome who received lentiviral vector-derived gene therapy.

Evolving Industry Partnerships and Investments in Cell and Gene Therapies.

Cell and gene therapies hold the promise of providing significant and durable health gains to patients in many disease states and have recently elicited significant investor and partner interest. We cover the current state of industry partnerships and investments, highlight what makes a partnership advantageous, and discuss implications for stem cell therapies.

Cost of Stem Cell-Based Tissue-Engineered Airway Transplants in the United Kingdom: Case Series.

Stem cell-based tissue-engineered tracheas are at an early stage in their product development cycle. Tens of patients have been treated worldwide in predominantly compassionate use settings, demonstrating significant promise. This potentially life-saving treatment is complex, and the cost and its implications for such treatments are yet to be fully understood.

Cell therapy companies make strong progress from October 2012 to March 2013 amid mixed stock market sentiment.

During Q4 2012 and Q1 2013, the cell therapy industry made strong progress in translation and commercialization. Continued development of the companies included in a dedicated stock market index suggests emergence of this industry as a distinct healthcare sector.

Global update: UK.

2012 has been an exciting year in the UK with substantial development on every front - research, clinical, industry and government. In particular, the focus has now moved to encompass far more post-research activities, with the continued enrolment of patients onto two pioneering Phase I clinical trials: ReNeuron's ReN001 stem cell therapy for stroke (PISCES) in Southern General Hospital, Greater Glasgow and Advanced Cell Technology's retinal pigment epithelial cells derived from human embryonic stem cells for Stargardts macular dystrophy and dry age-related macular degeneration at Moorfields Eye Hospital, London. The funding landscape for the sector has evolved from previous years to more fully embrace development and translation, including the provision of £180 million available for biomedical research via the Biomedical Catalyst Fund (joint Technology Strategy Board and Medical Research Council [MRC] funding) and a further £25 million through the UK Research Council's UK Regenerative Medicine Platform initiative, as well as ongoing developments with the Cell Therapy Catapult, which all act to further encourage a pan-UK collaborative environment.

The global cell therapy industry continues to rise during the second and third quarters of 2012.

During Q2-Q3 2012, the cell therapy industry benefited from a number of positive external influences including advantageous changes to future FDA regulation, but stock market activity was highly mixed. The FDA approved two more products and an appreciable number of public-company-sponsored clinical trials are progressing through phases 1-3.

Promising growth and investment in the cell therapy industry during the first quarter of 2012.

In the first quarter of 2012, publicly traded companies in the cell-based therapy industry continued to show promising overall growth. Highlights included $85 million in new capital investment and steady clinical trial progress.

The impact of market volatility on the cell therapy industry.

Stock market volatility in the cell therapy industry has greatly hindered the investment necessary to fund translational therapies. Here, we review the volatility of leading companies and suggest that a distinct industry is maturing to a point at which the volatility should subside, providing a more attractive environment for future growth.