X
Pharma Advancement
  • Home
  • Drug Development
    • All
    • Clinical Trials
    • FDA Approvals
    • Research & Development

    Nasal Spray Shows Its Effect Against New COVID Variants

    Mid-Point Regulatory Science Strategy Study Published By EMA

    AADC Inadequacy To Be Handled By A Novel Gene Therapy

    New Drug Explored For Epilepsy Gets $3M Funding In Australia

    Care Access Research Launches Alliance to Provide Infrastructure for COVID-19 Trials

    Faster Clinical Trial Nods Planned By The UK To Curb Issues

    Pharma Drugs Gain From Tardigrade Proteins, Says Research

    Pharma Drugs Gain From Tardigrade Proteins, Says Research

    U.S. FDA Approves DARZALEX Split-Dosing Regimen

    EMA Keeping A Close Watch On Critical Medicine Shortages

    Pathways Laid Down By The CMS For Drug Price Negotiations

    Pathways Laid Down By The CMS For Drug Price Negotiations

    Efficacy Shown On Cystic Fibrosis Patients In 4-Year Study

  • Manufacturing
  • Supply Chain
  • Facilities
  • Health & Nutrition
  • Events
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Drug Development
    • All
    • Clinical Trials
    • FDA Approvals
    • Research & Development

    Nasal Spray Shows Its Effect Against New COVID Variants

    Mid-Point Regulatory Science Strategy Study Published By EMA

    AADC Inadequacy To Be Handled By A Novel Gene Therapy

    New Drug Explored For Epilepsy Gets $3M Funding In Australia

    Care Access Research Launches Alliance to Provide Infrastructure for COVID-19 Trials

    Faster Clinical Trial Nods Planned By The UK To Curb Issues

    Pharma Drugs Gain From Tardigrade Proteins, Says Research

    Pharma Drugs Gain From Tardigrade Proteins, Says Research

    U.S. FDA Approves DARZALEX Split-Dosing Regimen

    EMA Keeping A Close Watch On Critical Medicine Shortages

    Pathways Laid Down By The CMS For Drug Price Negotiations

    Pathways Laid Down By The CMS For Drug Price Negotiations

    Efficacy Shown On Cystic Fibrosis Patients In 4-Year Study

  • Manufacturing
  • Supply Chain
  • Facilities
  • Health & Nutrition
  • Events
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
Pharma Advancement
No Result
View All Result
Home Drug Development Clinical Trials

Queen’s University leading clinical trial on cell therapy treatment for COVID-19 patients

Content Team by Content Team
22nd April 2020
in Clinical Trials, News
Envigo launches PATHWAY, an optimized safety assessment solution to enable first-in-human clinical trials

Researchers at Queen’s University Belfast are leading a UK-wide clinical trial, offering an innovative cell therapy treatment for COVID-19 patients with acute respiratory failure.

This clinical trial, led by Professor Danny McAuley and Professor Cecilia O’Kane, both researchers from the Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine at Queen’s, is investigating the use of allogenic Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) in patients with a complication known as Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) caused by COVID-19.

In the most critically unwell patients with COVID-19, many develop a complication known as ARDS. In ARDS the lungs become inflamed and leaky so they fill with fluid. This causes respiratory failure and patients may require admission to intensive care and a ventilator machine to support their breathing.

A recent statement from the four UK Chief Medical Officers outlined the importance of clinical trials amidst the COVID-19 crisis. Professor Cecilia O’Kane said: “It is only through clinical trials we will be able to determine if new treatments are effective and safe in critically ill patients.”

The trial involves the use of MSCs, a type of cell derived from human tissue such as bone marrow or umbilical cord (which is otherwise discarded after the baby is born), to treat the injury to the lung caused by COVID 19. MSCs are a novel treatment that have been shown in experimental models to reduce inflammation, fight infection and improve the repair of injured tissue.

Patients in this trial, which is known as REALIST COVID 19, will be treated with a purified population of MSCs derived from umbilical cord tissue called ORBCEL-C. The ORBCEL-C therapy has been developed by scientists at Orbsen Therapeutics in Galway, Ireland. The ORBCEL-C therapeutic is manufactured under licence by the UK NHS Blood and Transplant Service for the REALIST COVID-19 trial.

The trial is being introduced as part of an existing programme of research investigating the use of MSCs in patients with ARDS. The first patient has now been recruited with plans to recruit at least 60 patients throughout the COVID-19 pandemic at multiple sites across the UK including Belfast, Birmingham and London.

Professor Ian Young, Clinical Professor at the Centre for Public Health, Queen’s University Belfast, Director of HSC R&D and Chief Scientific Advisor at the Department of Health, said: “The Health and Social Care Research & Development Division has been working with researchers across HSC to address the global problem of Coronavirus. We have contributed £230K for this vital research which will provide important evidence regarding a potential new treatment for respiratory failure, a leading cause of mortality in COVID-19. We will continue to support health research and encourage people to participate in research trials and other studies so patients can get the best possible treatment to help tackle the spread of COVID-19.”

The trial has been identified by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) as a national urgent public health study. It is one of a number of COVID-19 studies that have been given urgent public health research status by the Chief Medical Officer/ Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England. The study is funded by the Health and Social Care Research & Development Division and the Wellcome Trust, sponsored by the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust and supported by the NI Clinical Trials Unit, the NIHR Clinical Research Network and the Northern Ireland Clinical Research Network.

Orbsen CSO Steve Elliman noted: “While there are over 100 vaccines and therapies in development targeting the SARS-CoV-2 infection – at present there are no disease modifying therapies approved for ARDS. We’re delighted the REALIST trial was approved and listed by NIHR as an Urgent Public Health Research Study so we can continue assess the safety of the ORBCEL-C therapy in patients with ARDS.”

Sir Professor Alimuddin Zumla of University College London, a global coronavirus and infectious diseases expert said: “This is an exciting and important trial which targets rectifying the underlying causes of lung damage and has great potential of saving many lives from COVID-19. The team should be congratulated for their leadership of host-directed therapies, a concept which has not yet been explored to its full potential.”

Professor Danny McAuley is also part of an international network of researchers who are taking forward trials of umbilical cord-derived Mesenchymal stromal cells for the treatment of COVID-19: UK: (UCL- Sir Professor Azumla); Portugal (Champualimud Foundation – Professor Markus Maurer; Italy (INMI-Professor Giuseppe Ippolito) and China (Fifth Medical Center- Professor Fu-Sheng Wang.)

  1. Media inquiries to comms.officer@qub.ac.uk  
  2. About NIHR: Please visit  https://www.nihr.ac.uk/covid-19/ to learn about other studies that have been given urgent public health status and the single, national prioritisation process that has been established to prevent duplication of effort and to ensure that the resources and capacity of the health and care system to support COVID-19 research are not exceeded.
  3. About Wellcome: Wellcome exists to improve health by helping great ideas to thrive. We support researchers, we take on big health challenges, we campaign for better science, and we help everyone get involved with science and health research. We are a politically and financially independent foundation. For more information please  visit: http://wellcome.ac.uk/
  4. For further information about HSC Research & Development Division work, please visit: www.research.hscni.net

Previous Post

2020 CPhI Pharma Awards are Open for Entries

Next Post

Germany approves first live human testing trial of potential COVID-19 vaccine

Related Posts

Drug Development

Nasal Spray Shows Its Effect Against New COVID Variants

27th March 2023
FDA Approvals

Mid-Point Regulatory Science Strategy Study Published By EMA

27th March 2023
Drug Development

AADC Inadequacy To Be Handled By A Novel Gene Therapy

24th March 2023
Drug Development

New Drug Explored For Epilepsy Gets $3M Funding In Australia

23rd March 2023
Care Access Research Launches Alliance to Provide Infrastructure for COVID-19 Trials
Clinical Trials

Faster Clinical Trial Nods Planned By The UK To Curb Issues

22nd March 2023
Pharma Drugs Gain From Tardigrade Proteins, Says Research
Drug Development

Pharma Drugs Gain From Tardigrade Proteins, Says Research

22nd March 2023
Next Post
Germany approves first live human testing trial of potential COVID-19 vaccine

Germany approves first live human testing trial of potential COVID-19 vaccine

Latest News

Drug Development

Nasal Spray Shows Its Effect Against New COVID Variants

27th March 2023
FDA Approvals

Mid-Point Regulatory Science Strategy Study Published By EMA

27th March 2023
Drug Development

AADC Inadequacy To Be Handled By A Novel Gene Therapy

24th March 2023
Drug Development

New Drug Explored For Epilepsy Gets $3M Funding In Australia

23rd March 2023
Care Access Research Launches Alliance to Provide Infrastructure for COVID-19 Trials
Clinical Trials

Faster Clinical Trial Nods Planned By The UK To Curb Issues

22nd March 2023
Pharma Advancement

About Us

Pharma Advancement is a leading Pharma information centric website. On one side Pharmaadvancement.com has established itself as one of the most efficient and comprehensive source of Pharma information online, dedicated to providing decision makers in all the Pharma industry sectors with reliable, accurate and useful insights into happenings in the Pharma sector.

Qucik Links

  • Drug Development
  • Manufacturing
  • News
  • Events & Conferences
  • Newsletter Archive

Resources

  • Advertise with us
  • Contact Us
  • Download Mediapack

System

  • Search
  • Sitemap
  • RSS Feed

© 2017 Copyright © Valuemediaservices 2017 All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Drug Development
  • Manufacturing
  • Supply Chain
  • Facilities
  • Health & Nutrition
  • Events
  • Contact Us

© 2017 Copyright © Valuemediaservices 2017 All rights reserved.

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In