Cryoport has expanded its contract with Stemedica Cell Technologies to provide cold chain logistics support for a Phase II clinical trial to assess the safety, tolerability and preliminary efficacy of allogeneic stem cell-based therapies in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. 

Cryoport has worked with Stemedica since 2015, transporting ischemic-tolerant stem cells to clinical research institutions and accredited hospitals worldwide for use in preclinical and clinical studies. Stemedica uses the Cryoportal logistics management platform, proprietary Cryoport Express dry vapor shippers and condition monitoring systems to ship human stem cells from collection sites in the U.S. to research centers in Georgia and California.

“We recently demonstrated, through preclinical and overseas clinical trial data that intravenous administration of stem cells resulted in a delay of accumulation of plaque formation and also in the reduction of plaque in an animal Alzheimer’s model,” said Nikolai Tankovich, president and chief medical officer, Stemedica. “This Phase II trial will enroll approximately 40 subjects diagnosed with mild to moderate dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease and will bring us closer to developing a stem-cell based treatment for humans. Using Cryoport’s validated cold chain solutions to maintain the integrity of our product line and ensure reliability of delivery to patients across the U.S. is essential to the validity of the trial.”

Cryoport currently supports more than 78 clinical trials worldwide. The company’s clinical trial clients include ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Kite Pharma, Gradalis and Perseus PCI.