Geron’s breakthrough cell therapy, GRNOPC1, is finally entering clinical trials following a long and traumatic development. So, if you’re planning on having a thoracic spinal cord injury in the next few months make sure it happens in striking distance of Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine or the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. Patients (all 10 of them) need to be fully enrolled and treated within 7 to 14 days of injury, so time is of the essence.
From my perspective, I’m interested to see how well this compares to the rodent results; and how the experience of the first clinical trial of a hESC derived therapy influences the regulatory outlook for future treatments. It’s an exciting time for Regenerative Medicine.
