Chimeric: Tailor-made bone marrow

While bone marrow transplant (BMT) is a useful procedure for treating multiple hematological or cancer indications, it requires closely matched bone marrow donors to avoid post-transplant complications such as graft-versus-host disease (GvHD). Chimeric Therapies Inc. believes it has developed a process for patient-specific modification of donor bone marrow that will allow a greater degree of mismatch while reducing the risk of GvHD.

Last week, the company began two Phase I trials of its defined BMT product to treat leukemia, which will provide data from different patient populations than are represented in its ongoing Phase II/III leukemia trial, and began a Phase I feasibility study in high-risk patients with sickle cell anemia (see B12). ...