English Translation of Today's $BSTG Release (ver
Post# of 4
(version with photos available here )
April 6, 2017 - Biostage, Inc. (BSTG), a biotech company developing bioengineered organ implants (that utilize the patient’s own stem cells) to treat life-threatening conditions of the esophagus, bronchus and trachea, yesterday presented preclinical data for its Cellspan™ Esophageal Implant at the Society for Biomaterials 2017 Annual Meeting and Exposition, being held April 5-8, 2017 in Minneapolis, MN.
Sherif Soliman, PhD, Head of Biostage's Material Science Lab, presented "Cell-Seeded Synthetic Scaffold for Esophageal Regeneration" during the Biomaterials Technology in Industry session on April 5, 2017. Biostage will also be a part of poster presentations (number 845) on Thursday, April 6 and Friday, April 7th.
Biostage’s preclinical (large animal) study evaluated its esophagus implant as an alternative treatment for patients with diseases like cancer that require surgical removal of a portion or all of their esophagus. The large animals – weighing around 120 pounds - were chosen for Biostage’s research because they have been found to provide a good approximation of the human body response in a range of research for other technologies and approaches. Whether the large animal research is an effective simulation for the human body is something that is still to be determined via human research now targeted to begin, pending FDA approval, in the later part of this year.
In the large animal studies, mesenchymal stem cells were extracted from the animal’s body fat, isolated and then grown into a larger population of cells. Mesenchymal stem cells are utilized because they are known to be able to stimulate the formation of a variety of cell types as required in the regeneration of complex organ tissues.
The stem cells were then spread onto a hollow tubular synthetic structure developed by Biostage by electrospinning fine polyurethane threads, a material known to have strong compatibility with tissue and blood.
The stem cell-coated tubular structures were incubated for 7 days to enable the cells to grow and adhere to the structure and then were surgically implanted in large animals, replacing a portion of their esophagus that had been surgically removed for the study.
Lab data has shown that Biostage’s Cellspan implants dependably carried active stem cells that released substances that signal nearby cells to alter their behavior, including differentiating into different types of cells.
Biostage’s in-animal studies resulted in tissue growth that led to tissue growth that fully replaced the portion of the esophageal tube that had been surgically removed. Furthermore, full regeneration on the inner surface of the new esophagus tissue was observed within a span of 3 months following implantation.
Photos of Biostage’s Esophageal Implant in Large Animal Model
(to help you see the success they are achieving)
Day 21 Post Implant Day 361 Post Implant
from BSTG’s year-end results presentation
The overall results further demonstrate the potential of our Cellspan Esophageal Implant to facilitate the regrowth of a complete segment of esophagus that has been surgically removed, as would be required to replace a section that had been surgically removed in the treatment of disease such as esophageal cancer.
We are encouraged by these results and believe that our Cellframe technology offers the potential to provide a solution to the radical surgeries involved in the current standard of care* that could improve patient outcomes. We look forward to further developing this innovative technology and its potential to also address disorders of other hollow organs, such as the bronchus and trachea.
Biostage’s presentation has the potential to be published – should it be accepted – in Transactions of the Society for Biomaterials, a copyrighted publication of the Society For Biomaterials. Any publication would be publicly announced by Biostage if and when it occurs.
*the current standards of care for patients who have had a portion of their esophagus removed due to cancer or trauma, are very aggressive, extensive surgeries: either a “stomach pull up” or moving a piece of the colon to fill in the missing area of esophagus. Both procedures are dangerous, extensive and impinge on long term patient quality of life, and the 5-year survivability rates post-surgery are very low. The implant solution offers “the potential” for far more safe and improved long term solution that is also anticipated reduce overall long-term patient treatment costs.
Biostage, Inc. (BSTG) Stock Research Links
David Collins, Managing Director
Catalyst Global Investor Relations
www.catalyst-ir.com
dcc@catatalyst-ir.com
212 924 9800