SanBio, a provider of regenerative medicine for neurological disorders, announced that a recent publication of its novel stem cell treatment, SB623, for patients following a stroke, has received a prestigious award from the American Heart Association. The scientific article, “Clinical Outcomes of Transplanted Modified Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Stroke: A Phase I/IIa Study,” was the third prize winner of the 2016 Stroke Progress and Innovation Award.

The Progress and Innovation Awards are offered by Stroke, a leading scientific journal addressing the diagnosis and treatment of cerebrovascular diseases, jointly with the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association. Previous award winners have established important standards of care in neurology, including Activase (alteplase) and induced hypothermia treatment.

Dr. Damien Bates, chief medical officer and head of Research at SanBio, said, “This prize from the American Heart Association recognizes the innovation of our stem cell treatment, SB623, and its potential to treat patients suffering from chronic physical impairments following ischemic stroke. The results of this study are encouraging to all those suffering from the long-term effects of stroke as well as the medical community working to advance treatment options.”

The clinical trial was a phase I/IIa, open-label, single-arm, dose escalation study of 18 patients with chronic motor deficits present for at least six months following an ischemic stroke. Patients received precisely targeted injections of SB623 cells directly into the neural tissue surrounding the damaged area of the brain.

Dr. Gary Steinberg, chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at the Stanford University School of Medicine and co-director of the Stanford Stroke Center, served as Principal Investigator for the clinical trial.

Results for subjects who completed the single arm phase I/IIa study demonstrated statistically significant improvement in motor function, evaluated using the European Stroke Scale, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, the Fugl-Meyer total score and the Fugl-Meyer motor function total score. The data also showed that the treatment was generally safe and well-tolerated by the trial participants.