Lineage Cell Therapeutics Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN:LCTX) has endorsed the recently passed proposition 14 in California.
Lineage endorses the passing of Proposition 14 supporting cell therapy development.
The bill will improve the patient’s access to innovative stem cell therapies. This will be through giving the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) the ability to give grants around $5.5 billion to support the development of therapies, medical research, and stem cell technologies –based facilities. The initiative builds on proposition 71 that issued around $3 billion grants to support stem cell research leading to significant medical advances, including cure in patients receiving cell therapy treatments. One of the first clinical studies supported by CURM is Lineage’s OPC1 oligodendrocyte progenitor cell therapy for acute spinal cord injury treatment, which showed positive and durable results in patients.
Brian Culley, the company’s CEO, said that patients inspire the company to advance cell therapy treatment. He said the recent Proportion 14 approval ensures that companies such as Lineage can continue delivering novel cell-based therapies to patients. He added that cell therapy could impact millions of lives, and California’s passage of Proposition 14 shows its commitment to support innovative companies to deliver cell-based therapies.
Lineage completes enrolment in OpRegen® study
Recently the company announced the completion of enrolment of its Phase 1/2a OpRegen® study. OpRegen is the company’s investigational cell therapy that consists of retinal pigment epithelium cells administered to the subretinal area for dry age-related macular degeneration with geographic atrophy. The company will present updated preliminary results of the 24-patients study at this year’s Annual American Academy of Ophthalmology Meeting during the OP02C Retina, Vitreous Original Papers Session.
Culley said that the completion of enrolment in the OpRegen trial is a massive achievement for the company and reflects its commitment to advancing three cell therapy candidates. He said that they believe in transplanted cell therapies at Lineage to durably and safely treat severe conditions and diseases, especially where molecular approaches don’t work. He added that showing this potential in clinical studies is a massive milestone in the process.
