Aldagen’s Product Used to Isolate Stem Cells From Cord Blood in Human Clinical Study

Aldagen, Inc. today announced that clinicians at Duke University Medical School have used its ALDESORT product to isolate stem cells from cord blood and safely infused these cells into patients. The on-going clinical study is led by Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg, the director of the Duke Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Program and the Carolinas Cord Blood Bank, a public cord blood bank at Duke University Medical Center. Kurtzberg’s team has performed 650 cord blood transplants in children — more than any other center in the world. In recent years, Kurtzberg has expanded cord blood’s application to treat a wide range of genetic diseases, like Krabbe Disease and Hurler Syndrome, which cause progressive physical and cognitive deficits leading to death in early childhood.

ALDESORT isolates a unique population of stem cells from cord blood that are capable of contributing to neutrophil and platelet engraftment and immune reconstitution. The ultimate aim of the clinical study is to determine the feasibility of priming this unique population of stem cells with growth factors to improve the speed and efficacy of cord blood transplantation in the pediatric setting.

"Cord blood is a source of life-saving stem cells to treat a range of fatal diseases for which no other cure exists," says Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg, who pioneered the use of umbilical cord blood in 1993 as a cure for fatal childhood cancers and genetic diseases.

"This is an important milestone for Aldagen as it represents the first clinical use of our ALDESORT product for the isolation of stem cells," added Ed Field, President and COO of Aldagen. "The product has performed well and the isolated cells have been safely infused into patients. Ultimately, stem cells isolated from cord blood by ALDESORT could be used as an "off-the-shelf" therapy for certain tissue repair and regeneration applications."

About Aldagen, Inc.

Aldagen’s proprietary products identify and isolate unique populations of adult stem cells with the potential to revolutionize treatments of cardiovascular disease and degenerative diseases. The Company is testing its ALDESORT product in a clinical trial at Texas Heart Institute to treat ischemic heart failure patients in addition to the cord blood transplantation study at Duke University Medical Center. To learn more about Aldagen’s products for preparing optimal cell populations for adult stem cell therapy, the Company invites you to visit its website at www.aldagen.com.