NeoStem gets more funding for periodontal research

The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has awarded NeoStem funds for the second year of a two-year, $1.2 million grant for its Repair of Bone Defects with Human Autologous Pluripotent Very Small Embryonic-Like Stem Cells (VSEL) study.

This peer-reviewed grant is to support a phase II investigation and first approved NIH clinical study of VSELs in humans. Enrollment for this study is expected to begin in 2014, the company noted in a press release.

VSEL technology, an autologous therapy derived from a patient's own stem cells, is being developed for use in the regeneration of bone tissue damaged by periodontitis. The award was $706,682 for the first year of the project and $515,172 for the second year, and will cover the cost of the Investigational New Drug submission to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the product candidate. The company anticipates making that submission in late 2013 or early 2014.