American nonprofit health care network Sanford Health has just announced a new trial testing the use of umbilical cord stem cells for treating COVID-19. It is a first-of-its-kind study which will involve five patients at the Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls.
The test subjects all have moderate to severe COVID-19. It will include patients who are in the mid-stages of the disease as well as those who are very unwell and on a ventilator. If the trial is successful, the researchers will expand the study to include patients in Fargo.
Lead researcher Dr. W. Chad Spanos said of the trial: “We are optimistic about the potential improvement with this treatment,” he continued We look forward to enrolling more patients onto this trial and bringing promising new treatment options to our patients’ bedside in the future.”
This trial is randomised and placebo controlled. It will examine both the efficacy and safety of using umbilical cord stem cells to treat COVID-19. The trial will also attempt to determine which types of patients benefit most from the treatment.
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Sanford Health is a large nonprofit health care system which has healthcare clinics throughout the the Upper Midwest. It also has large medical centres in Fargo, Sioux Falls and Bemidji.
David A. Pearce, president of innovation and research at Sanford Health, said of the trial: “We’re committed to bringing the best treatments and discoveries to our patients first. We are thrilled to be the first health system in the country to open this trial and offer access to a novel treatment option to our patients with severe cases of COVID-19.”
The stem cells used for this research project have been provided by the biotechnology firm RESTEM. They have developed a proprietary process which allows them to increase the number of stem cells in a single umbilical cord tissue sample, which can improve the success rate of treatments.
Source: Sanford Health launches first-of-its-kind study of umbilical stem cells as COVID-19 treatment
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