Longeveron completes enrollment of patients in first phase of LMSCs clinical trial to Alzheimer's disease

The fifth and final patient needed for the initial safety "run-in" phase was infused last week. The Company will review the safety data prior to proceeding with the second phase: a 25-subject randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study evaluating the safety, tolerability and efficacy of LMSCs in early-stage Alzheimer's disease. The trial is taking place at the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine. 

"The impact of Alzheimer's disease is vast, far exceeding the medical community's current ability to treat it," said Joshua M. Hare, mamaging director, Longeveron's co-founder and chief science officer. "Regenerative medicine and cell-based therapies offer a promising new approach to close this gap and address the urgent need for effective therapies to combat the condition."

An important component in the progression of Alzheimer's disease is neuroinflammation. Longeveron was recently awarded a $1 million Part the Cloud Challenge on Neuroinflammation grant from the Alzheimer's Association to help support this research.

"Adult stem cells are very potent anti-inflammatories. The characteristic amyloid plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer's disease patients produce inflammation, and stem cells can reduce inflammation," explained Bernard S. Baumel, managing director, principal investigator for the trial. "Alzheimer's also impairs the brain's ability to adequately produce new brain cells in the memory area known as the hippocampus. Stem cells can stimulate the brain to produce these new cells needed to form memory. We believe that an infusion of LMSCs may improve the condition or at least halt the progression of the disease."

Prior research shows that adult MSCs target and reduce inflammation, promote tissue repair and improve brain function in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease. Longeveron's trial is the first U.S. clinical study of exogenously administered mesenchymal stem cells derived from the bone marrow of healthy adult donors for treating Alzheimer's disease.

Longeveron completes enrollment, patients, first phase, lmscs clinical trial to alzheimer's disease