Histocell and Ferrer announce that the preclinical studies of their traumatic spinal cord injury drug support its therapeutic potential

Histocell, specialist in cell therapy applied to regenerative medicine and Ferrer pharmaceutical company have presented the preclinical results of NeuroSave (FAB117-HC), a new advanced therapy for traumatic spinal cord injury. The data was presented at the International Spinal Cord Repair Conference (ISCORE) held in Barcelona in November with the participation of world-renowned specialists in the field of spinal cord injury.

The preclinical research was presented by Dr. Francisco Javier Rodriguez, a specialist at the Toledo Hospital for Paraplegics. He explained that "the drug, made by a type of adult stem cell specially designed to promote recovery from spinal cord injury (HC016 cells), has shown very positive results when administered in the acute phase directly in the damaged area of the spinal cord".

Phase I/II clinical trials with NeuroSave in patients with acute traumatic spinal cord injury are due to begin in the first quarter of 2016.

There are an estimated 2.5 million patients with spinal cord injury in the world and every year there are more than 130,000 new cases mostly among young people. The severity of the injury and the absence of effective treatments has a considerable impact on the quality of life of patients and their families. Experts say that the cost to society of a patient with spinal cord injury can be nine times greater than that attributable to such disabling diseases as dementia.

About Histocell

Histocell is a biopharmaceutical company, part of the Noray Biosciences Group, which specializes in tissue engineering and cell therapy applied to regenerative medicine. Histocell has a highly qualified team of 30 specialists and production facilities certified by the Spanish Drug Agency (AEMPS) for the manufacture of cell therapy drugs. Histocell’s technology is based in the use of adult stem cells, applied alone or combined with new generation biomaterials, to consolidate its position in the development of advanced drug therapies drugs and tissue engineering.www.histocell.com

About Ferrer

Founded in 1959, Ferrer is an international Barcelona-based pharmaceutical company, with 23 international subsidiaries and a presence in more than 90 countries. Ferrer carries out activities throughout the entire value chain, from R&D to international marketing, in the pharmaceutical, health, fine chemicals and food sectors, key areas for contributing to people’s health and quality of life. Ferrer's strong commitment to R&D is demonstrated by its enhanced strategy and collaborations and partnerships with public research groups and biotechnology companies, and the creation of Ferrer Advanced Biotherapeutics to develop projects with high added value. http://www.ferrer.com