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Scientific Article by Kadimastem: Cell-Based Treatment for ALS was Published

Jun. 6, 2018

by a Prestigious Cell Therapy Scientific Journal

Ness Ziona, Israel, 6 June 2018, Israeli biotechnology company Kadimastem (TASE: KDST) announced that its scientific research has been published in the prestigious medical journal Stem Cell Research and Therapy. The link to the article is:


The article reviews the comprehensive scientific research, led by the company's Chief Scientist, Professor Michel Revel, and its VP R&D for ALS and Neurodegenerative Diseases, Dr. Michal Izrael, of its flagship product, AstroRx®. The article describes the safety and efficacy results of the product in model animals and its various mechanisms of action, which prevent the death of motor neurons that are damaged in ALS. The results described in the article constitute the foundation of the clinical trial the company is currently conducting in ALS patients using AstroRx®. The clinical trial is being conducted in the Department of Neurology of the Hadassah Ein-Kerem Medical Center, and interim results are expected within the coming year.


Professor Michel Revel, the company's Chief Scientist, noted: "This article summarizes the scientific research performed by Kadimastem over years, which resulted in the development of AstroRx®, recently approved for clinical trial as cell therapy for ALS patients. In ALS, motor neurons that are responsible for the function of the body's muscles are degenerated due to the malfunctioning of astrocytes (nervous system support cells). In the research, we developed a method which enables the use of stem cells for the production of large quantities of healthy support cells, similar to those in the human brain, and the cells have been proven to possess several mechanisms of action for the protection of neuron survival. After their injection into the spinal cord fluid, the cells demonstrated therapeutic efficacy in lab animals with ALS. Moreover, the treatment was proven safe in large animal study, which enabled the approval of the clinical trial in ALS patients. The publication of the extensive research performed by Kadimastem is also an opportunity to extend our appreciation to the company's entire scientific and regulatory team, on a true achievement."


Yossi Ben-Yossef, the company's CEO, added: "We are proud of the publication of the article in the prestigious journal and of the international scientific community's recognition of the company's advanced technology. The results published in the article enabled the clinical trial in ALS patients that the company is currently conducting. I hope and believe that treatment with AstroRx® will improve the condition of the patients participating in the trial."


The article is titled: "Safety and efficacy of human embryonic stem cell-derived astrocytes following intrathecal transplantation in SOD1G93A and NSG animal models." The research tested the efficacy of AstroRx® in inhibiting the progress of ALS in animal models, and found the treatment to significantly improve the sick animals' motoric ability and their life expectancy. Additionally, the research used immunodeficient animal models to demonstrate the safety of the treatment. The research also tested AstroRx®'s mechanisms of action and demonstrated its support of the survivability of motor neurons, which are damaged in ALS patients, by the simultaneous deployment of several effective mechanisms. This is the treatment's most significant advantage over available treatments for ALS, whose efficacy is highly limited, and to drugs under development, which work with a single mechanism. AstroRx®'s mechanisms of action include the removal of excess toxic glutamate, of which patients typically have high levels, protection against oxidative stress, and the secretion of approximately forty factors known to prevent the death of motor neurons, which are damaged in ALS.

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