Cynata Therapeutics (ASX:CYP) flags $1m grant for Cymerus MSCs research project

• Cynata Therapeutics (CYP) is set to investigate its Cymerus mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) as a treatment for ischaemic heart disease (IHD) thanks to a $1 million grant from the Australian government
• The National Health and Medical Research Council awarded the grant to St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, to lead the two-year research project
• Cynata will collaborate with St Vincent’s and other institutions to investigate Cymerus MSCs as a therapy option treatment option to prevent the onset of heart failure and improve survival in patients with IHD
• CYP shares are trading grey at 32 cents at 2:55 pm AEST

Cynata Therapeutics (CYP) has announced a $1 million grant from the Australian government to investigate its Cymerus mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) as a treatment for ischaemic heart disease (IHD).

The Australian Government’s National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) awarded the $1 million grant to St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne (SVIMR) under the its 2021 MRFF Cardiovascular Health Mission.

This money will fund a preclinical research project, led by SVIMR’s Head of the Cardiac Regeneration research unit, Dr Shiang (Max) Lim.

The project will also include researchers from other universities in Australia, the US, and Singapore, who will collaborate on investigating a new potential therapeutic strategy to treat IHD, which is the leading cause of heart failure worldwide.

“We are very pleased that the MRFF has seen fit to provide a substantial amount of funding to progress this, and we look forward to working with Dr Lim and the highly-credentialled team that he has assembled to execute this important project,” Cynata COO Dr Kilian Kelly said.

Dr Lim said there was an urgent need for novel therapies to prevent heart failure and improve survival in IHD patients.

“We firmly believe that MSC therapy has great potential to address this unmet need,” Dr Lim said.

“Unlike conventional stem cell production methods, which are associated with scale-up and consistency challenges, the Cymerus iPSC-based approach can provide an effectively unlimited source of consistent MSCs.”

The two-year project will encapsulate Cymerus MSCs in a clinical-grade device that can be implanted below the skin to allow sustained delivery of the bioactive molecules released by the MSCs.

The project will seek to optimise the encapsulation approach and demonstrate the long-term cardiac repair in rat and sheep models of acute myocardial infarction. If successful, these studies may support future human clinical trials.

CYP shares were trading grey at 32 cents at 2:55 pm AEST.