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UK STEM CELL FOUNDATION FUNDS HEART REPAIR PROJECT

Press Release, November 7th, 2006

A pioneering research project aimed at reducing the number of fatalities and suffering of heart attack patients was announced by the UK Stem Cell Foundation today.

For the first time heart attack patients are to have their own stem cells injected into their hearts within a critical five hours of the attack to see if stem cells can improve quality of life and delay or prevent the onset of heart failure, a frequently seen complication of heart attacks.

The first clinical research project to be supported by the UK Stem Cell Foundation has been designed by Dr Anthony Mathur, Senior Lecturer and Consultant Cardiologist, and Professor John Martin, British Heart Foundation Chair in Cardiovascular Sciences; at Barts and the London NHS Trust and University College London respectively.

David Macauley, Chief Executive, UK Stem Cell Foundation said: “This is the first known project of its type in the UK to combine stem cell delivery to the heart with primary angioplasty - where the blocked arteries in heart attack patients are opened as quickly as possible. It addresses one of the biggest killers in the UK, 108,000 people die every year from heart attack. It is also a strategically important area for the National Health Service.”

Professor Peter Weissberg, Medical Director, British Heart Foundation added “In the future, stem cells could herald a new frontier for heart patients. We welcome research that helps us understand the potential role stem cells may yet play in treating heart disease and hope that this study will compliment the BHF's existing research in this area.”

Over the last decade, a shift has occurred from people dying during the acute phase of a heart attack to those eventually dying from long term effects, including heart failure.

At last estimates, 660,000 people were diagnosed with heart attacks in the UK. These figures are accompanied by a financial cost to the economy in the region of £7,000 million per year due to the direct effects relating to hospital admissions and prescriptions as well as the indirect effects on the economy due to loss of work force.

Professor John Martin said: “Taking heart attack patients to centres where their blocked coronary artery can be opened immediately has lead to significant increases in survival and decreases in the damage to heart muscle. Previous studies in the heart have shown that stem cell delivery to the heart is safe. We will show whether it works in acute heart attack. Our study combines the two new ways of treating heart attack victims for the first time.”

Heart attack patients brought to the London Chest Hospital (Barts and the London NHS Trust) and the Heart Hospital, (UCLH Trust) for direct coronary intervention will be recruited for the study.

Following the intervention, a stem cell sample will be taken from the patient’s own bone marrow. Once the cells have been prepared patients will receive the sample into the previously blocked artery.

Dr Anthony Mathur said: “If we can demonstrate improvement in the quality of life of patients then this will be a significant step forward in the treatment of heart disease. Because the stem cells are taken from the patientsthemselves there are minimal ethical issues surrounding this procedure. There is also less likelihood of rejection complications.”

The London Development Agency, which has provided 50% of the funds required to support the project said “London is a world leader in scientific and clinical knowledge and has unique strengths in stem cell research. The London Development Agency is committed to driving this talent forward from research to business development and to supportingadvances in the life sciences industry for improving health.”

Private funding has been donated by Mr William Bollinger, co-founder and retired Limited Partner of Egerton Capital, and his wife, Mrs Judith Bollinger, a director of ABG Sundal Collier, a Nordic investment bank. The Bollingers said: “We are thrilled to support Professor Martin, Dr Mathur and their dedicated team as they bring hope to so many at risk of suffering the long term, debilitating effects of heart attack.”

This is the first research grant to be awarded by the UK Stem Cell Foundation, which was established in December 2005 specifically to support translational stem cell projects which move basic stem cell techniques into the clinic.

For more information please contact Media House on 02073978460; Lindsay Smith 07740350095 or Gina Jackson 07815 319447.

Notes to Editors
Telephone Interviews available with Professor John Martin, Dr Anthony Mathur and David Macauley. Please contact Lindsay Smith 07740350095, Gina Jackson 07815 319447 or Media House on 02073978460.

Background
Two recent advances in the field of cardiology have significantly improved the outlook for patients suffering heart attacks in the UK. The first has been the development of a primary angioplasty service which has been implemented both at Barts and the London NHS Trust as well as the Heart Hospitals (UCL). This service means that people suffering heart attacks are brought by ambulance crews straight to these highly specialised centres where they immediately undergo balloon angioplasty to open their blocked arteries instead of clot-busting therapy. This approach has led to significant increases in survival and also decreases in repeated hospital admissions. However a significant proportion of these patients will still be left with damage to their hearts.

The second development has been the use of adult bone marrow derived stem cells to treat patients with heart attacks in an attempt to repair the damage to the heart muscle that such an attack can cause. Several small studies throughout Europe have demonstrated that the infusion of adult derived bone marrow progenitor cells at around the time of the heart attack leads to improved heart function. These studies have mainly been designed to test the safety and feasibility of this novel approach. Thus far they have demonstrated that within the study limits, adult progenitor cells can be safely delivered to the heart safely within several days of the heart attack.

This study has therefore been designed to test the exciting possibility that by combining primary angioplasty with stem cell delivery in patients with heart attack we may be able to prevent significant damage to the heart. Not only would this substantially increase the patients quality of life, it may decrease the amount of medication they need and also facilitate an early return to work.

Coronary Heart Disease Statistics 2006, BHF: London

Coronary heart disease kills more women than breast cancer in the United Kingdom.
Despite deaths from heart attacks decreasing, it is still the biggest killer in the UK.
Every two minutes someone has a heart attack. A third of those patients die before they reach hospital.
Heart attacks cost the European economy 300 billion Euros per year in direct and indirect costs.
Present treatments for heart attack treat the blockage but there is as yet no treatment for the damage that the blocked arteries cause.

UK Stem Cell Foundation
The UK Stem Cell Foundation (UKSCF) exists to support the advance of pioneering stem cell research into medical practice. Established in December 2005, the charitable organisation has been personally endorsed by the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, as well as by the Royal Society of Medicine, Medical Research Council and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, and by twenty leading research universities, including Bristol, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Imperial, Manchester, Newcastle, Oxford, UCL and York.

University College London NHS Trust
Founded in 1826, UCL was the first English university established after Oxford and Cambridge. In the government's most recent Research Assessment Exercise, 59 UCL departments achieved top ratings of 5* and 5, indicating research quality of international excellence. UCL is top twenty ranked world University in the 2006 league table of the top 500 world universities produced by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

Barts and The London NHS Trust
Barts and The London NHS Trust is one of the country’s top ranked teaching hospital trusts (Healthcare Commission Annual Health Check 2006). The Hospitals in the Trust, Barts in the City, The Royal London in Whitechapel and The London Chest Hospital in Bethnal Green, receive 767,000 attendances from people in the City, East London and further afield every year.

London Development Agency
The London Development Agency is the Mayor's agency for sustainable economic development. The LDA prepares the Mayor's business plan for London and mobilises the support and resources of hundreds of partner organisations to help build a thriving economy for London's people, businesses and communities. The LDA is dedicated to improving sustainability, health and equality of opportunity for Londoners.