Magellan Stem Cells has welcomed a $7 million grant from the Australian Government's Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) to help fund a Phase III human trial of the company's donor stem cell treatment for osteoarthritis.
In announcing the grant, Australian Federal Minister for Health and Aged Care, The Hon Mark Butler, said:
"We are living through a supercharged period of discovery in health and medical research, and the Albanese Government is proud to support Australia's world class researchers.
"Stem cell therapies could provide innovative treatments for many chronic and inherited diseases we can't yet treat effectively. Such therapies could also revolutionise how we test and develop new medications.
Magellan's Phase III osteoarthritis trial is one of six projects sharing $34.5 million supported by the Medical Research Future Fund's (MRFF) Stem Cell Therapies Research Grant Opportunity.
Arthritis Australia, leading national arthritis charity, welcomed the announcement in posts on LinkedIn and Facebook
"Osteoarthritis is a huge cause of pain and disability in Australia," Minister Butler said.
"Up until now the treatments only extended to pain relief and potentially replacement surgery, like knee replacements."
The trial of Magellan's donor stem cell treatment for osteoarthritis is scheduled to begin next year
The announcement of the $7 million grant follows publication of research by Melbourne-based Magellan Stem Cells that demonstrated potential for significant therapeutic benefits of Magellan's MAG200, an off-the-shelf donor stem cell therapy for osteoarthritis.
The research findings are published in Osteoarthritis and Cartilage Open the open-access journal of Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI), which publishes the evidence-based, international consensus guidelines on osteoarthritis management.
Lead researcher and Chief Medical Officer at Magellan Stem Cells, Associate Professor Freitag, said:
"We are very grateful to the Australian Government and the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) for their support for this potentially life-changing technology."
"The grant is a vote of confidence in the future of the Australian biotech sector, stem cell technology and Magellan's ground-breaking research."
He said the earlier Phase I/II trial had demonstrated benefits of Magellan's MAG200 product including:
- Sustained pain improvement of 58 per cent at 12 months of follow-up
- Quality of life scores more than doubled for patients who received stem cell treatment
A patient's story:
Keryn Hutchison, 44, is an intensive care nurse who was diagnosed with osteoarthritis about five years ago when she was just 39.
Her injury is known as a chondral defect, which in her case was damage to the cartilage that lines the end of the bones in her left knee.
As a nurse she needed to be on her feet 12-hours a day for work, but standing and walking was intensely painful, she said
"I resorted to painkillers, ice packs and 'living with it'. Even day-to-day movement was painful," she said.
Following treatment with MAG200 in the Phase I/II trial about five years ago, Keryn says: "I am now stronger and doing more than I was before."
She says her scans have shown cartilage regrowth in her knee.
"It's given me my life back," she said.
Associate Professor Freitag and patient Keryn Hutchison are
