The ex vivo maintenance and manipulation of hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs) has historically been problematic. Cytomatrix has developed a novel-three dimensional biomaterial, termed Cellfoam/TM, that enables the culture of multipotent HPCs over extended periods in the absence of exogenous cytokines, or using only very low levels of selected cytokines. Such findings indicate that the system may be unique in its ability to maintain and manipulate HPCs ex vivo over extended periods. Phase II will test the clinical value of cells treated as such thorough a murine animal model and will develop and assess prototype. Cellfoam approaches in the elimination of tumor cells primary HPC samples through purging and cytoprotection adjuvants. These products will capitalized on the ability to utilize cytokine-free and low level cytokine- supplementation culture to maintain and treat HPCs in assays and for clinical applications such as tumor cell purging for bone marrow transplantation procedures.
Phase II will support the development of two commercial products: an in vitro HPC screening system and a tumor cell purging bone marrow transplantation system. The annual market for HPC screening systems is estimated at $300 million; in bone marrow transplantation, the US market alone stands at $4.5 billion annually, approximately 10% of which (450 million) is attributable to cell processing.
