Patients with heart failure, peripheral artery disease or stroke could benefit from a new stem-cell based treatment, following an agreement between The University of Queensland and US-based start-up company AngioStem Inc.
Under the agreement, UQ gives AngioStem intellectual property rights relating to a method developed at the university for extracting large quantities of specialised stem cells from the placenta.
UQ’s main commercialisation company, UniQuest, will receive patent royalties and milestone payments linked to clinical developments.
AngioStem specialises in angiogenesis techniques and will utilise the unique abilities of placental stem cells, also known as endothelial progenitors, for the recreation of new blood vessels in areas of the body that are lacking blood flow.
According to UQ's Associate Professor Kiarash Khosrotehrani, who co-invented the new technology, it was previously not possible to isolate placental stem cells in sufficient quantities for use in such treatments.