Cryoport supporting TiGenix sepsis clinical trial

05-Feb-2018 - Last updated on 05-Feb-2018 at 16:42 GMT

(Image: iStock/Pablo_K)

The number of new clinical trials in the regenerative market space continues to grow, says Cryport, which will provide global logistics support for TiGenix’s upcoming Phase Ib/IIa study.

TiGenix is looking to recruit 180 patients across at least 50 centers for the randomized double-blind placebo controlled SEPCELL study.

The study will evaluate the safety and efficacy of expanded Cx611 allogeneic adipose‐derived stem cells (eASCs) for the treatment of sepsis in adult patients with severe community‐acquired bacterial pneumonia and admitted to the intensive care unit, according to the company.

Biotech activity

The Cryoport Biotech Activity Index (CoBRA IndexSM), which quantifies the development of regenerative therapies in the US, decreased 7.1% in the third quarter of 2017, according to the company.

The index – launched in 2017 – tracks clinical trial activity in the regenerative medicine space. Its growth is expected to be volatile as the industry matures, Mark Sawicki, PhD, chief commercial officer of Cryoport, commented.

“As the total number of trials in regenerative medicine grows, the impact of each new individual therapy is not expected to have as significant of an impact on the CoBRA IndexSM as they do in this early stage of the industry's development,” he said in press release.

According to the company, the decrease was largely due to the termination of a Phase III trial and dosing pauses in several early stage trials.

However, the decrease was offset by new clinical trials in the regenerative market space, the number of which increased from 899 to 934 during Q3 2017, according to the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine.

During the same quarter, approximately $1.85bn was invested in the development of regenerative therapies – a 102% increase over the same quarter in 2016, Cryoport reported.