THE LEADING SCIENTISTS IS NEXT
THE UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI IS
BREAKING GROUND ON USING CELLS
THERAPY FOR SERIOUSLY ILL COVID-
19 PATIENTS PROVIDING
CLINICIANS IN MIAMI AND
MARYLAND WITH BONE MARROW SALES
THAT HAVE BEEN CULTURED AT THE
INTERDISCIPLINARY STEM CELL
INSTITUTE.
JOINING US NOW IS& THE FOUNDING
DIRECTOR OF INTERDISCIPLINARY
STEM CELL AND AT THE UNIVERSITY
OF MIAMI MILLER SCHOOL OF
MEDICINE.
DR., THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR
JOINING US.
CAN YOU WALK US THROUGH THE
PROCESS OF INSIDE THE
MANUFACTURING LAB OF GETTING
THE BONE MARROW STEM CELLS
READY FOR USE?
THIS IS A PROCESS WORKING ON
CLOSE TO 15 YEARS MAKING US A
LEADER IN THIS.
WE ARE TAKING DONATIONS FROM
YOUNG HEALTHY PEOPLE.
WE TAKE THEIR BONE MARROW.
WE ALSO EXPANDED THIS PROCEDURE
TO USE CORD BLOOD AS WELL.
CORD BLOOD IN THE WHOLE
UMBILICAL CORD.
THERE ARE LARGE NUMBER OF
TISSUES THAT WE CAN USE.
BONE MARROW IS THE ORIGINAL
TISSUE AND WE GET YOUNG HEALTHY
DONORS.
WE TAKE A SMALL AMOUNT OF ON
MARROW, JUST ABOUT TWO
TEASPOONS AND THEN AS SHOWN IN
THE PICTURE, WE CAN ISOLATE
FROM THE BONE MARROW THE
SPECIFIC STEM CELLS AND THEN
EXPAND THEM IN CULTURE SO THAT
WE GET ABOUT 40 TO 100 DOSES OF
SPENT STEM CELLS FROM ONE
DONOR.
AND HOW IS THIS MAKING IT
DIFFERENT FOR CORONAVIRUS
PATIENTS?
SO, THESE CELLS HAVE BEEN
TESTED IN A LARGE NUMBER OF
DISEASES, INCLUDING HEART
DISEASE AND LUNG DISEASE.
THE ONE THING WE'VE LEARNED
ABOUT THEM THAT IS VERY
EXCITING IS THEY CAN MODULATE
THE IMMUNE SYSTEM AND REDUCE
THE LEVEL OF THOSE CYTOKINES
THAT ARE DRIVING THE DISEASE IN
CORONAVIRUS PATIENTS WHEN IT
CAME ON THE SCENE SEVERAL
MONTHS AGO, MANY OF US WORKING
IN THE FIELD FELT THAT THE STEM
CELLS COULD BE ONE OF THE MOST
POWERFUL TREATMENT MODALITIES
BECAUSE THEY CAN REDUCE THE
CYTOKINES AND DO SO IN A VERY
SAFE MANNER OUR ADVANTAGE OF
HAVING TESTED THEM FOR OVER 15
YEARS IS THAT WE KNOW THAT THEY
ARE SAFE AND WE KNOW WHAT THE
DOSE TO GIVE IS.
IN THIS SMALL NUMBER OF
PATIENTS WE CREATED, THOSE
CYTOKINES ARE BROUGHT DOWN VERY
QUICKLY, VERY EFFECTIVELY, AND
THAT CORRELATES WITH AN
IMPROVEMENT IN THE LUNG
FUNCTION OF THE COVID-19
PATIENTS.
DR., HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN
USING THESE CELLS AND WHAT HAS
BEEN THE SUCCESS RATE IN
TREATING CORONAVIRUS PATIENTS
SO FAR?
THE NUMBERS ARE VERY SMALL
RIGHT NOW.
WE ARE HOPING VERY MUCH THAT
THEY WILL BE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE
FUNDING THAT WILL GO BEHIND.
WE NEED TO DO A TRIAL OF STEM
CELLS AS BIG AS THE REMDESIVIR
TRIAL WHICH WE'VE HEARD SO MUCH
ABOUT . THAT WAS A 400 PATIENT
TRIAL.
WE REALLY NEED TO BE ABLE TO DO
THAT WITH STEM CELLS TO GET
THAT KIND OF EVIDENCE.
THERE'VE BEEN A HANDFUL OF
GROUPS THAT ANNOUNCED RESULTS
WITH ABOUT 10 TO 12 PATIENTS IN
EACH STUDY.
THE EXCITING THING ABOUT THOSE
SMALL EXPERIENCES IS THAT THEY
HAVE BEEN REMARKABLY POSITIVE.
PEOPLE ON A VENTILATOR CAN HAVE
ABOUT AN 80, 90% DEATH RATE IN
SOME STUDIES AND WHEN YOU USE
THE STEM CELLS AND FLIP THAT
IT'S ABOUT AN 80 TO 90%
SURVIVAL RATE.
WE THINK IT'S A VERY IMPORTANT
TREATMENT MODALITY,
PARTICULARLY FOR PATIENTS OF
THE STEM CELLS ON THE
VENTILATORS AND WE NEED TO
REALLY DO QUICK STUDIES THAT
COULD BE DONE OVER A COUPLE OF
MONTHS TO FIND OUT WHETHER THIS
IS SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE
USED WIDELY AROUND THE COUNTRY.
THOSE NUMBERS SOUND VERY
ENCOURAGING.
WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE
CHANCES THIS COULD BE FAST
TRACKED THE WAY REMDESIVIR HAS?
UNFORTUNATELY THE FDA HAS
WHAT IS CALLED THE SEAT BACK
PROGRAM.
EVERYTHING THAT IS UNDER
TESTING IS ACCELERATED RIGHT
NOW.
WE CAN GET THE STUDY DONE, THEN
WE HAVE A CHANCE AT A FAST
TRACK APPROVAL.
THE FDA HAS BEEN AMAZING AT
THEIR QUICK APPROVALS.
THE COMPASSIONATE USE THAT
WE'VE BEEN USING.
FOR EXAMPLE, THE FIRST PATIENT
WE SOUGHT APPROVAL FOR ON A
SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND BY
SATURDAY NIGHT, WE HAD THE
APPROVAL.
WE ARE WORKING AROUND THE CLOCK
AND THE FDA IS ALSO WORKING
AROUND THE CLOCK.
IT'S JUST REALLY VERY MUCH