(ASX:CYP), a clinical-stage biotechnology company specialising in cell therapeutics, has announced the initiation of a new study to investigate its Cymerus mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs).
The study will be based on a pre-clinical model of lung disease assessing the potential molecular mechanisms involved in the observed high potency of the Cymerus MSCs.
The company said data generated in the model, which mimics features of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), will add to its body of knowledge.
"The observations are expected to provide very useful information relevant to the potential mechanisms of action of Cynata's MSC products and will be important in leveraging commercial and regulatory activities," it said.
Lung diseases such as IPF represent an enormous unmet medical need because existing treatment options have only modest effects on disease progression and survival rates.
The new study will be led by Professor Chrishan Samuel of the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute and Department of Pharmacology at Monash University in Melbourne.
Dr Kilian Kelly, Cynata's chief operating officer, said, "This new study with Professor Samuel follows his earlier investigations, which confirmed the potent anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic effects of our Cymerus MSCs in several different studies in pre-clinical models of allergic and fibrotic diseases of the lung, such as asthma and IPF.
"Given the importance of gaining a clearer understanding of the molecular processes involved in these potentially clinically useful effects, we believe this further study will provide important insights as we move forward in parallel with our plans for a clinical trial in IPF."
