Mesoblast targets heart failure in trial

Melbourne-based regenerative medicine company, Mesoblast, has announced that its North American partner, Angioblast Systems, has undertaken a trial of Mesoblast's adult stem cell product, Revascor, in treating patients who have suffered a heart attack.

If successful, the treatment might eliminate the need for mechanical devices or a heart transplant by repairing some of the damage done in the heart attack.

Revascor is based around Mesoblast's technology using mesenchymal precursor cells (MPC), a type of multipotent stem cell, which is injected into the heart following a heart attack.

The Phase II trial will be conducted in multiple locations across the United States and will involve 80 patients in the most severe end-stage of heart failure. These individuals would normally wait to receive a heart transplant, and are kept alive by a Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) manufactured by Thoratec.

The injections of Revascor aim to increase the number of blood vessels in the heart, thus improving blood flow to healthy heart muscle, which improves heart function, obviating the need for a transplant.

The trial is funded by the US National Institutes of Health.

Mesoblast holds a 39.2% equity in Angioblast. Mesoblast (ASX:MSB) is down 2c in today's trading, to $1.18.