Bioheart, Inc., in collaboration with Global Stem Cells, Inc. have initiated a new clinical site in Cozumel, Mexico.
Bioheart Inc., a biotech company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of autologous cell therapies, has announced that it has initiated a new clinical site in collaboration with Global Stem Cell Group, Inc. in Cozumel, Mexico. The two companies successfully treated their first congestive heart failure patient at the new clinical site last week, using Bioheart’s AdipoCell (adipose derived stem cells).
The therapy involved the use of stem cells derived from the patient’s own fat (adipose tissue) obtained using liposuction. The recovered stem cells were injected into the patients’ heart with Bioheart’s MyoCath® needle injection catheter which allows for introduction of the cells directly into the heart without invasive surgery.
Rafael Moguel, M.D., Head of the Cardiac Program at the Centro Medico de Cozumel, was the treating interventional cardiologist for the Bioheart therapy procedure.
“Our center is very excited to participate in the cutting edge programs at Bioheart,” Moguel says. “We can offer new hope to patients suffering from debilitating diseases by utilizing regenerative medicine, and delivering them non-invasively into the heart.”
The MyoCath catheter was introduced using a radial artery approach, the first such documented stem cell case using this delivery method. The benefit of a radial artery approach is that it does not require the patient to lie flat for up to six hours, as in a femoral artery approach. Patients are able to sit up, walk and eat immediately following the procedure, and the risk of internal bleeding is eliminated.
Bioheart and Global Stem Cells Group have designed several different protocols to be utilized at the center in Cozumel, offering treatments to patients for a variety of different indications.
About Bioheart, Inc.:
Bioheart is committed to maintaining its leading position within the cardiovascular sector of the cell technology industry delivering cell therapies and biologics that help address congestive heart failure, lower limb ischemia, chronic heart ischemia, acute myocardial infarctions and other issues. Bioheart’s goals are to cause damaged tissue to be regenerated, when possible, and to improve a patient’s quality of life and reduce health care costs and hospitalizations.
Specific to biotechnology, Bioheart is focused on the discovery, development and, subject to regulatory approval, commercialization of autologous cell therapies for the treatment of chronic and acute heart damage and peripheral vascular disease. Its leading product, MyoCell, is a clinical muscle-derived cell therapy designed to populate regions of scar tissue within a patient’s heart with new living cells for the purpose of improving cardiac function in chronic heart failure patients. For more information on Bioheart, visit http://www.bioheartinc.com.