Pluristem Therapeutics Receives Australian Patent For Novel Pulmonary Hypertension Therapy Process
Pluristem Therapeutics was recently granted an Australian patent entitled “Adherent Cells From Placenta Tissue and Use Thereof in Therapy,” and was assigned patent number 2009288781 covering Pluristem’s proprietary 3D method to grow cells from both placental or adipose tissue that can be used as treatment for several conditions including pulmonary hypertension. The term of the patent will end in 2027.
The cells developed through Pluristem’s method can also address peripheral artery disease, cardiovascular and ischemic diseases, graft-versus-host disease, cancer, organ transplantations and autoimmune diseases.
Pulmonary hypertension is a disease characterized by high blood pressure in the pulmonary artery, pulmonary capillaries or pulmonary vein, which can lead to dizziness, shortness of breath, leg swelling, fainting and other symptoms. Pulmonary hypertension is a serious condition that often leads to decreased exercise tolerance and right heart failure. The disease was identified in 1891 by Ernst von Romberg.
This new patent is the fifth awarded to Pluristem in Australia, with six more applications currently pending. The country has one of the longest life expectancies in the whole world, with healthcare expenses of $172 billion in 2013. Australia is a large, critical market for therapies that address chronic diseases that are more frequent in aging populations, like intermittent claudication, critical limb ischemia and muscle injury or wasting; these clinical issues are all included in Pluristem’s clinical pipeline. Pluristem has more than 150 patents pending worldwide and has been issued 40 patents globally.
United Therapeutics, out-licensing partner of Pluristem technology, is now conducting a Phase I study of Pluristem’s cells in Australia to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension. The company is also recruiting patients to enroll the second cohort of the study.
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Haifa, Israel based Pluristem Therapeutics Inc., a drug developer specializing in placenta-based cell therapy products, has announced that licensee partner United Therapeutics Corporation has completed the dosing portion for the first patients cohort in the company’s Phase I study, which is testing Pluristem’s novel Placental expanded (PLX-PAD) cells as a therapy for patients who have pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).
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