Stem Cell Therapy for Cardiovascular Disease-Progress Despite Economic Turmoil

Article preview reprinted Medtech Insight - January 2009

The Fifth International Conference on Cell Therapy for Cardiovascular Disease is one of the largest medical meetings focused solely on cell-based therapies for cardiac repair and regeneration.

Stem Cell Therapy for Cardiovascular Disease-Progress Despite Economic Turmoil

Article preview reprinted Medtech Insight - January 2009

The Fifth International Conference on Cell Therapy for Cardiovascular Disease is one of the largest medical meetings focused solely on cell-based therapies for cardiac repair and regeneration. More than 60 faculty members from around the globe and a wide variety of disciplines met at the New York Academy of Medicine from January 14-16, 2009, to discuss recent developments in this evolving field. While the primary focus was on cardiac repair, vascular restoration and construction, critical limb ischemia, and noncardiac applications were also presented. Despite a difficult investment environment, optimism remains high with some therapies undergoing approval assessment.

Developments, Funding Continue Amidst Harsh Economic Climate

Most sessions focused on using stem cell-based therapies, agents, or devices to enhance cardiac tissue repair post–myocardial infarction (MI) as a strategy to prevent heart failure (HF) progression. Depending on the extent of the damaged tissue from an MI, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) can decline over time. An LVEF below 50% is associated with significantly shorter survival. Several presenters pointed out that existing therapies are insufficient to address this growing problem.

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Companies mentioned in this article:

Aldagen Inc.

Baxter International Inc.

Bioheart Inc.

Cardio3 BioSciences SA

Cleveland Clinic

Cytograft Tissue Engineering Inc.

Cytori Therapeutics Inc.

Erasmus Medical Center

Geron Corp.

Harvest Technologies Corp.

Osiris Therapeutics Inc.

Stanford University

StemCor Systems Inc.

University of Florida

University of Miami

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