ProTrans and NextCell gain international attention

 “We are proud that our work is recognized and appreciated by the Editor. This will further increase the international exposure of NextCell”, says Mathias Svahn, CEO

Diabetologia, the official journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) summarizes the importance of the study on their website:

“Umbilical cord‑derived mesenchymal stromal cells preserve endogenous insulin production in type 1 diabetes: a Phase I/II randomised double‑blind placebo‑controlled trial
Per-Ola Carlsson, Daniel Espes, Sofia Sisay, Lindsay C. Davies, C. I. Edvard Smith and Mathias G. Svahn

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have been shown to modulate the immune system and dampen inflammatory and autoimmune responses in numerous diseases. In this issue, Carlsson et al (https://doi.org/10.1007/s00125-023-05934-3) report their findings from a Phase I/II dose escalation and double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial investigating the Wharton’s jelly MSC drug product, ProTrans, for the treatment of new-onset type 1 diabetes. In the dose escalation safety study, the authors demonstrate that ProTrans can be safely administered intravenously with no serious adverse events. A fixed dose of 200 million MSCs preserved the production of endogenous insulin and reduced exogenous insulin replacement compared with placebo 1 year after treatment. The authors conclude that a single treatment with ProTrans could potentially delay type 1 diabetes disease progression, thereby reducing the associated complications and improving quality of life.”

In the international scientific journal, Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology (June 2023), Hana Drobiova and coworkers list advantages of using stem or stromal cells from the umbilical cord, such as ProTrans, enabling the use of WJ-MSCs as therapeutic agents in regenerative medicine. In particular Professor Carlsson’s clinical trials using allogenic WJ-MSCs to investigate their safety and efficacy are highlighted

The clinical trial with ProTrans is a collaboration with Professor Per-Ola Carlsson, Principal Investigator at Uppsala University and Karolinska Trial Alliance, Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge, Sweden (Clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT03406585).

The article is available as open access at https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37221247/