Perth-based biotech NeuroScientific Biopharmaceuticals’ clinical arsenal has just got a heavy-hitting upgrade with the appointment of well-credentialled Perth-based paediatric haematologist and oncologist Dr Catherine Cole as its chief medical officer.
The news continued to fuel a stellar rise in the company’s share price - up another 8.5 per cent today to 25 cents and up an eye-watering 371 per cent since the start of June.
The hire has come at a critical time as the company accelerates the development of its recently acquired StemSmart technology. StemSmart uses a specific type of stem cell, mesenchymal stromal stem cells (MSC), as a last-line infusion treatment for critically ill patients, including those experiencing severe immune complications from bone marrow transplants, kidney and lung transplant rejection and the inflammatory Crohn’s disease.
The company expects later this year to receive the interim results from its latest compassionate access program involving patients with difficult-to-treat fistulising Crohn’s disease, in which an open wound develops from a gut flare-up that extends out to the skin.
If successful, the program trial will help the company validate its proprietary StemSmart technology in this patient group, who otherwise have limited treatment options.
Cole brings extensive experience to the table, having held clinical and academic leadership roles across Australia and overseas, including head of haematology and oncology at Perth Children’s Hospital and professor of paediatric haematology and oncology at The University of Western Australia.
She is also the former director of stem cell transplantation at Perth Children’s Hospital, placing her front and centre in NeuroScientific’s race to employ stem cell therapy to treat some of the most debilitating transplant complications and autoimmune diseases.
The seasoned physician has additionally served on ethics committees and worked closely with national and international regulators, a skillset the company hopes will prove instrumental as it seeks regulatory approvals for StemSmart in Australia and abroad.
NeuroScientific Biopharmaceuticals chairman Rob McKenzie said: "We are very fortunate that Cathy is joining at this key time in the company’s evolution. Her vast experience and leadership will greatly strengthen our management team as we progress our SAS fistulas in Crohn’s program and make plans for future growth.”
Commenting on her new role, Dr Cole said she was excited to help expand access to life-changing treatments, adding that the MSC therapy has been shown to modulate the immune system, reduce inflammation, promote immune tolerance and speed up tissue repair in some immune-related diseases.
She noted the clinical results so far for StemSmart in patients with immune-mediated disorders have been highly effective, and that the growing global momentum around stem cell therapies demonstrated that the sector’s therapeutic potential could be invaluable.
“I look forward to helping expand access to life-changing therapy for patients affected by a range of immune and inflammatory disorders,” Cole said.
The MSCs used in StemSmart were pioneered over the past 20 years by Perth haematology medical scientist Dr Marian Sturm, NeuroScientific’s incoming chief scientific officer, in her former role as facility director of Royal Perth Hospital’s Cell and Tissue Therapies centre.
It offers a step up from traditional MSC manufacturing in that the cells are grown in a special media, becoming activated in the process. The platform technology was developed at Royal Perth Hospital (RPH) and manufactured using RPH’s processes.
The cells have been used many times over the years via early phase clinical trials, studies and on compassionate grounds, with promising results.
If NeuroScientific’s latest special access scheme (SAS) trial pans out, the company plans to escalate into phase 1/2 clinical trials as it sets its sights on obtaining the regulatory and funding approvals required for a full-scale rollout.
For now, all eyes are on the fistulising Crohn’s data and the company’s clinical and regulatory push. With Sturm and Cole holding its scientific and clinical reins, NeuroScientific can gear up to play in the big biotech league.
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By James Pearson
