Scottsdale, Arizona (PRWEB) April 21, 2012

QualityStocks would like to highlight Advanced Cell Technology, Inc., a publicly traded biotechnology company applying cellular technology in the field of regenerative medicine. ACT specializes in the development of cellular therapies for the treatment of diseases and conditions that impact tens of millions of people worldwide. The company applies stem cell-based technologies (both adult and human embryonic) and other proprietary methods in the field of regenerative medicine to bring patient-specific therapies from the lab bench to the bedside.

In the companys news yesterday,

Advanced Cell Technology reported the successful completion of the dosing of the third patient in its phase I/II trial for dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) using retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs).

The company has already conducted the procedure in six other patients at UCLA, and said it anticipates adding more sites in the near future. Gary Rabin, chairman and CEO of ACT, also noted the prestige of individuals participating in the trials.

The completion of enrollment of the first cohort of patients in our dry AMD clinical trial is a significant step forward in our RPE clinical program. The first six patients in the U.S. trials have all been treated at UCLA, and as we have recently announced, the trials should soon expand to additional sites, Rabin stated in the press release. As we have built our clinical team, we have been fortunate to have attracted the attention of some of the highest-caliber ophthalmologists and related institutions in the U.S. and Europe and recognize the huge value that their expertise provides us as we plan for the future of our therapeutic programs. With their guidance, we have also worked with the FDA to successfully expand the criteria of eligibility for patients to participate in our dry AMD trial.

The procedures at UCLA were all conducted by the team led by Steven Schwartz, M.D., Ahmanson, professor of ophthalmology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and retina division chief at UCLAs Jules Stein Eye Institute.

Dr. Schwartz reports that there have been no complications with any of the procedures, nor have there been any safety issues.

ACT currently is conducting three clinical trials in the U.S. and Europe using hESC-derived RPE cells as treatment for various forms of macular degeneration.

We are extremely pleased with the progress being made in all three of our clinical trials here in the U.S. and the UK, stated Robert Lanza, M.D., ACTs chief scientific officer. The data we are reviewing seems to be pointing in the appropriate direction. We still have many patients left to treat during the course of these trials, but our team remains hopeful that stem cell-derived RPE cells may someday provide a new therapeutic approach for the treatment of many forms of macular degeneration. We hear from patients who suffer from these diseases on nearly a daily basis, and appreciate the huge responsibility we have to them.

Link:
QualityStocks News - Advance Cell Technology Completes Treatment of Third Dry AMD Patient in Phase I/II Clinical Trial