Biostage (NSDQ:BSTG) touted preclinical data for its Cellspan esophageal implant at this year’s annual meeting of the Society for Biomaterials.
The 27-person biotech based in Holliston, Mass., is developing technology to regrow esophageal tissue in patients that have esophageal cancer or atresia. Biostage has devised a way to combine stem cell therapy and a biocompatible device to create a combination product for implantation.
To create the implant, stem cells are collected from a fat tissue biopsy and seeded onto a scaffold that mimics the dimensions of an esophagus. The scaffold is ready to be implanted after spending 3 to 5 days in a bioreactor. Biostage hypothesizes that their Cellspan implants provide biological cues to the patient’s tissues, stimulating growth responses and tissue regeneration.
The preclinical study evaluated the Cellspan implant as an alternative for patients with esophageal diseases that require resection. In vitro data demonstrated that the Cellspan implant carried metabolically active cells that released bioactive molecules, Biostage reported.
The company also said that in vivo studies yielded tissue growth that led to the regenerated esophageal tube after surgical resection. The researchers reported that they saw full mucosal regeneration within 3 months following implantation.
“The overall results further demonstrate the potential of our Cellspan esophageal implant and its feasibility to facilitate the regeneration of full circumferential sections after esophageal resection, as it would be clinically required for esophageal replacement,” president & chief medical officer Saverio La Francesa said in prepared remarks. “We are encouraged by these results and believe that our Cellframe technology offers the potential to provide a solution to the unmet medical need in the current standard of care aiming to improve the outcome for these patients. 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.”
