Saneron was awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop Sertoli cells combined with stem cells from cord blood for possible treatment of spinal cord injury. The $150,000 grant is the latest in a series of six SBIR/STTR grants that Saneron and USF have collaborated together on in their efforts to create cellular therapies for neurological disorders.
"The fact that we can use natural human cells instead of synthetic drugs to treat spinal cord injury is remarkable" said Cyndy Davis Sanberg, PhD, Vice President for Research at Saneron and principal investigator of the grant. "This new study should add greatly to our mission of developing cord blood stem cell therapies for repair of CNS injuries. Saneron is extremely pleased that the NIH has recognized the enormous potential of these cellular therapies by providing funding through these highly competitive grant programs." Additional studies will be needed before moving forward to human trials, she said.
"Cell therapy is on the cutting edge of the new frontier of medicine for many patients with diseases that are untreatable today," said Stephen Klasko, MD, MBA, Vice President for Health Sciences and Dean of the College of Medicine at USF. "Saneron represents an entrepreneurial approach in an academic setting that will help patients and grow economic development in Tampa."
In related news, on Sept. 14 the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) issued a patent to Don F. Cameron, PhD, and colleagues at the University of South Florida for the discovery of a method of transplanting cells using a Sertoli cell biochamber. This patent compliments and expands Saneron's cache of licensed Sertoli patents to eight issued US patents and several corresponding foreign patents, including a European patent covering Sertoli cells as transplantation facilitator for cell transplantation, which was issued in the United Kingdom on Aug. 19.
About Saneron CCEL.
Saneron CCEL Therapeutics, Inc. is a biotechnology R&D startup company; focused on neurological cell therapy for the early intervention and treatment of several devastating or deadly diseases, which currently lack adequate treatment options. Saneron CCEL, located at the USF Center for Entrepreneurship in Tampa, FL was created by the merger of Saneron Therapeutics, Inc. and CCEL Bio-Therapies, Inc., formerly a wholly owned subsidiary of Cryo-Cell International, Inc. Saneron CCEL is committed to providing readily available, non-controversial stem cells for cellular therapies and has exclusively licensed patented technology relating to our platform technology of U-CORD-CELL ™ - Umbilical cord blood, and SERT-CELL ™ -Sertoli cells.
For further information please contact:
Saneron CCEL Therapeutics Inc.,
Cyndy Davis Sanberg, PhD
Nicole Kuzmin-Nichols, MBA
3650 Spectrum Blvd., UTC II, Suite 170
Tampa, FL 33612
Phone: 813-866-6372
nkn@saneron-ccel.com