MENLO PARK, Calif., Dec. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- StemCor Systems, Inc., a medical device company developing systems for Enabling Regenerative Medicine(TM), announced today that it has acquired U.S. Patent 6,849,051, “Devices And Methods For Extraction of Bone Marrow”, and associated know-how from USPure Sciences, LLC. The patent covers devices and methods for aspirating cellular samples from bone cavities. The concept and technologies are complementary to StemCor’s MarrowMiner(TM) which recently received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market for the harvest of bone marrow.
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“We are pleased to add this patent and associated technologies to our bone marrow aspirating intellectual property portfolio,” commented Vartan Ghazarossian, PhD, President and CEO of StemCor Systems, Inc. “By building upon the solid foundation of our current technologies, we plan to broaden our capabilities as we develop the systems to improve the harvesting of adult bone marrow for a variety of possible clinical applications in the field of Regenerative Medicine, including cardiovascular, neurologic, diabetic and orthopedic diseases.”
About the MarrowMiner
The proprietary MarrowMiner system is designed to rapidly and easily harvest bone marrow in a minimally-invasive manner, in the outpatient setting, and without general anesthesia. The system consists of an access guide, a powered handle that drives a flexible atraumatic shaft through which marrow is aspirated, and an integrated marrow collection container. The MarrowMiner shaft gains access to the bone marrow cavity through the access guide to allow the removal of bone marrow through a single entry site. This is in contrast to the current practice of bone marrow aspiration through the insertion of a needle into multiple sites in the iliac crest of the hip, which usually requires general anesthesia, an operating room, and multiple clinical personnel. Preclinical studies demonstrated the ability of the MarrowMiner to safely harvest large volumes of marrow with significantly higher stem cell activity than is contained in standard needle aspirates.
About Bone Marrow
Bone marrow is a rich source of both adult stem and progenitor cells. Marrow-derived stem cells have been utilized extensively for over 40 years in the field of bone marrow transplantation, primarily for the treatment of a wide array of cancers and hematologic diseases for which over 60,000 transplants are performed each year. Orthopedic procedures, such as spinal fusions and the treatment of non-union fractures, also commonly utilize the patient’s own bone marrow. More recently, marrow-derived cells are showing promise in the treatment of a widening array of diseases and conditions.
About Regenerative Therapies
Regenerative medicine focuses on the ability to repair or regenerate damaged, diseased or aging tissues, and is rapidly emerging as the next frontier in medicine. Regenerative therapies have the potential to provide effective therapies for millions of patients worldwide suffering from a wide array of diseases, including cardiovascular, neurologic, orthopedic and diabetic diseases. A critical aspect of many regenerative therapies is the ability to collect the patient’s own stem cells, and later process, select and deliver these cells to a target organ.
About StemCor
StemCor Systems is a privately held medical device company located in the San Francisco Bay Area developing enabling technologies for regenerative medicine. The company’s initial product is the MarrowMiner, a proprietary, minimally-invasive bone marrow collection system. The technology was invented by Daniel Kraft, MD, and was licensed exclusively from Stanford University. Clinical studies are now underway to evaluate the potential of the bone marrow collection system to obtain sufficient and high quality marrow-derived cells.
Vartan@StemCorSystems.com
CONTACT: Vartan Ghazarossian, PhD, President and CEO of StemCor Systems,
Inc., +1-650-321-6884, Vartan@StemCorSystems.com
Web site: http://www.stemcorsystems.com/
