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Gamida Cell, an Israeli company, has been developing expansion technologies for blood stem cells in an attempt to overcome some of the limitations currently associated with cord blood transplants, namely the delayed time to engraftment. Gamida Cell’s NiCord is an expanded blood stem cell product derived from a cord blood unit.
Earlier this year, Gamida Cell announced that NiCord was used successfully in a Phase I/II study as an experimental graft for bone marrow transplantation for patients with hematological malignancies. In this study, NiCord was administered to patients along with an un-manipulated cord blood unit.
Results from this study suggested that NiCord reduced the time to neutrophil and platelet engraftment and provided durable long term engraftment. As a result of these findings, Gamida Cell has just started a second clinical study in which NiCord alone will be transplanted into the patient.
This study is being conducted at Duke University in North Carolina and is planned to be completed by April 2014. If successful, NiCord has the potential to broaden the accessibility, reduce toxicity and improve the clinical and economic outcomes of cord blood transplantation worldwide.