Ossium Health, a pioneering bioengineering firm dedicated to creating the world's inaugural repository of donor organ bone marrow, has joined forces with the National Marrow Donor Program® (NMDP)/Be The Match®, an esteemed global entity committed to saving lives through cellular therapy. This collaboration aims to enhance accessibility to crucial bone marrow resources and expedite the capacity of the sector to provide bone marrow transplants on a widespread scale.

Ossium and NMDP/Be The Match are initiating a clinical trial designed to validate the safety and effectiveness of Ossium's bone marrow product. Known as the PRESERVE I study, "A First-in-Human Study of HLA-Partially to Fully Matched Allogeneic Cryopreserved Deceased Donor Bone Marrow Transplantation for Patients with Hematologic Malignancies" (NCT05589896), it is slated to commence in the fourth quarter of 2023. Upon completion of the trial, a subsequent phase II clinical trial involving multiple centers will commence. Pending favorable outcomes from these trials, the two entities will collaborate to incorporate the bone marrow contributions from Ossium Health's exclusive repository into NMDP/Be The Match's national donor registry. Once integrated into the national registry, the donated bone marrow from Ossium Health will become an invaluable resource for medical professionals across nearly 160 U.S. transplant centers that rely on the Be The Match Registry® to expand treatment options for patients in search of compatible donors. This partnership holds the potential to significantly expand Ossium's capacity to assist patients at a broader scale and enable NMDP/Be The Match to provide an additional life-saving source of bone marrow to a more extensive cohort of patients in need.

"In light of the 18,000 patients requiring bone marrow transplants annually, it's imperative to ensure that individuals have access to the widest array of potential donors to transform life-saving matches into a reality for all," remarked Kevin Caldwell, CEO & Co-Founder of Ossium Health. "We're elated to collaborate with NMDP/Be The Match to enhance their registry with viable donors, enabling more individuals to access immediate treatment."

Ossium employs a process that involves extracting bone marrow from duly authorized deceased donors, yielding cells that are phenotypically and functionally indistinguishable from those sourced from living donors. Subsequently, the marrow is cryopreserved and stored until a physician's request for use. Ossium's method has the potential to significantly reduce the waiting period for bone marrow transplants. Following the completion of clinical trials and registry integration, Ossium is poised to deliver readily available bone marrow solutions, complementing NMDP/Be The Match's existing U.S. roster of over 9 million potential living donors.

"At Be The Match, our unwavering dedication lies in optimizing opportunities for patients to identify the most suitable matches. Hence, Ossium is an ideal collaborator for us," affirmed Amy Ronneberg, CEO of NMDP/Be The Match. "We're invigorated by their groundbreaking donation resource, which could open pathways for numerous individuals to receive the essential bone marrow transplants they require. We eagerly anticipate the accomplishments that our partnership will yield, enhancing the lives of individuals grappling with blood cancer and blood disorders."

 

Source: businesswire.com

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