Australian cell therapy company Cynata Therapeutics (ASX:CYP) has announced the presentation of data from a study investigating the consistency of its mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and MSCs derived from various tissue sources.
The study involved comparing the consistency of multiple batches of MSCs, including the company's induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived MSCs, as well as tissue-derived MSCs from bone marrow, adipose tissue and umbilical cord.
The company said that a technique known as next-generation single-cell sequencing was used to profile the gene expression of the different types of MSCs at the individual cell level. The investigation was conducted by a team of scientists at Monash University, led by Associate Professor Jess Frith.
It found that Cymerus' MSCs exhibit less batch-to-batch variability than tissue-derived MSCs and significantly less variability within each batch. It also found that tissue source is the primary driver of MSC variability.
Cynata chief operating officer Dr Kilian Kelly said, “The overall conclusion of the study is that Cymerus MSCs are highly consistent and that the Cymerus manufacturing process successfully bypasses much of the inherent variability that affects tissue-derived MSCs. Product consistency is a mandatory requirement of healthcare regulatory agencies such as the FDA and so the conclusions from this study further support the utility of the Cymerus platform. The study validates the potential of Cymerus MSCs as an off-the-shelf cell therapy and provides a better understanding of the sources of MSC variability, with a view to making clinical outcomes more predictable.”