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Cynata Therapeutics Ltd (ASX:CYP) has seen its share price rise more than 10% on the release of a study indicating the potential for Cymerus – its ‘off the shelf’ therapeutic stem cell platform technology – to reverse pulmonary fibrosis and lung stiffness.
The study – which was conducted by Professor Chrishan Samuel, Head of the Fibrosis Laboratory at Monash University’s Department of Pharmacology – aimed to examine the efficacy of Cymerus in the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) – an often-fatal chronic lung disease in humans.
However, the study subjects in this case were mice which had been subjected to bleomycin (BLM)-induced pulmonary fibrosis, which mimics features of IPF.
The study found that bleomycin injury resulted in the expected features of the pulmonary fibrosis model, which were ameliorated by a single or double intravenous administration of Cymerus mesenchymal stem (or stromal) cells (MSCs).
In particular, the latter were shown to reduce lung stiffness, in addition to several indicators of interstitial lung fibrosis, inflammation and epithelial damage; there was also a reported decrease in levels of pro-inflammatory cytokine expression whilst anti-inflammatory cytokine expression were promoted.
Professor Samuel said the study – published in peer-reviewed journal Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy – indicated the possibility of Cymerus becoming a functional treatment for the condition.
“We found that Cymerus MSCs induced striking multi-factorial therapeutic effects in this study, which suggest that these cells have the potential to be a novel treatment option for IPF, a condition with an enormous unmet need,” he said.
“This study builds on the very promising data we have generated previously, using Cymerus MSCs in a model of chronic allergic airways disease.”
At 12:43 AEST, Cynata shares were trading at 21.5 cents, a rise of 10.26% since the market opened.
