California Stem Cell Company in Irvine Takes Over Cancer Program Developed at Hoag Hospital in Orange County For Treating Skin Cancer

The company is focused on working with stem cells and also has another division that creates tools for predictive toxicology screening, in other words drug screening. The company also has partnerships with Johns Hopkins, UC Irvine and a few other healthcare organizations.

“California Stem Cell (CSC) is a privately held company focused on the manufacture of high-purity human cells for therapeutic development and clinical application. CSC is currently developing stem cell based therapies for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig's Disease).”

This particular treatment seeks out the the worst type of melanoma and destroy the cells that break away from the initial tumor and are found elsewhere in the body. This is the first time the company has acquired a treatment program that was developed at a hospital. BD

An Irvine stem-cell company is taking charge of a Hoag Hospital cancer program that trains its patients' own immune systems to attack tumors.

The program, acquired by California Stem Cell Inc., specializes in treating malignant skin cancer by targeting the stem cells of the cancer itself -- that is, the part of a cancerous tumor that is active and growing.

Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian has been developing the treatment over the past 20 years.

The patient's own tumor stem cells, as well as immune cells, are purified from their blood.

The immune cells are then "taught" to recognize the cancer stem cells, and injected back into the patient's body.

The treatment targets the worst type of skin cancer, malignant melanoma. And it can seek out and destroy "seed" cells that break away from the initial tumor and lie dormant elsewhere in the body -- out of reach of traditional cancer treatments.

UC Irvine researcher Hans Keirstead, who developed the first human embryonic stem-cell treatment for spinal cord injuries to be tested on patients, is chairman of the company's science advisory board, Airress said.

The company also has applied to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to begin a treatment for spinal muscular atrophy, a disease that typically kills its victims in their first years of life.