Media Releases 1: Mesoblast - the adult stem cell company. Regeneration of adult stem cells for regrowth of bone and cartilage.

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Transcript of The (AFL) Footy Show, Melbourne , Channel 9, 2 June 2005

Interview with Mesoblast Founder and Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor Silviu Itescu

EDDIE McGUIRE – PRESENTER :

On the back of that story is an interesting story now, the world of stem cell research. Now, we know that there have been a lot of moral and ethical issues in regards to embryonic stem cells. The area we're going to talk about for a few moments is actually adult stem cells. So, they don't have the same ethical problems or moral dilemmas that have been written about extensively in the media over the last couple of years.

Adult stem cell therapy is an area that is going to become more and more reality in the world of medicine coming forward.

We've asked Professor Silviu Itescu who's the Professor of Medicine at Melbourne University and the Columbia University in New York , and served on US President George W Bush's Council on Bioethics. He's also the founder of a company, a publicly listed company called Mesoblast, that's involved in the stem cells. Professor, welcome aboard.

SILVIU ITESCU

Good evening.

McGUIRE :

What is the future of stem cells, adult stem cells in relation to injuries like Nathan's had, and, also, maybe even soft tissue injuries going forward? Where are we heading in the world of medicine and sport and, for that matter, life in general?

ITESCU :

Well, let me say at the outset that I think Nathan's treatment has been first rate. Really, he's received everything that's currently available, has been treated on by an outstanding orthopaedic surgeon Hayden Morris

Really, the treatment that he has received is to just put his bones into an alignment and allow those few stem cells that are inside the bone to create new bone and repair the fracture. And, in most situations, that actually works.

Unfortunately, as you get older, you start to have less and less of your own adult stem cells, and in situations such as his kind of fracture where you've got a very severe break, there may not actually be enough stem cells to allow this repair process to occur.

ITESCU :

And the technology that Mesoblast is currently developing is based on more than 10 years of research at the Hanson Institute in Adelaide by world leading scientists, who identified these very precise adult stem cells, had developed ways of purifying these cells, growing them up in very large numbers, and really allowing us to take these cells and put them into those fractures in million-fold levels greater than they are presently today.

NEWMAN :

So Prof , is your charter eventually to ideally have a donor bank of stem cells that players or sports people put in when they sign up, and if this injury happens like it did to Nathan Brown, you can go to the bank, bring out their cells… is that the idea of it? And he would be fixed in half the time; is that it or not?

ITESCU :

Well, that's certainly an interesting idea. I think, where we are today is we're beginning clinical trials in patients with what's called delayed healing of fractures.

Again, as I say, in most cases, and certainly we hope that in Nathan's situation he's going to have a very smooth process, he'll have a complete recovery.

NEWMAN :

But if your thing was up and running, you could go to his stem cell bank and fix him within half the time?

ITESCU :

What we would hope is that if these stem cells are available as we move forward, these will be able to be used freshly at the time of a fracture and perhaps accelerate and help heal the fracture.

NEWMAN :

And lessen the risk of infection.

ITESCU :

Reduce the risk of infection, reduce the time to healing and reduce the period off sick.

McGUIRE :

Nick?

RIEWOLDT :

Are you facing any moral objections like there have been, you know, with …

NEWMAN :

Cloning.

RIEWOLDT :

… lots other, sort of, stem cell research?

McGUIRE :

Yeah, embryonic.

ITESCU :

No, I think it's really important to emphasise that these are adult stem cells. They're your own cells; they have nothing to do with embryonic stem cells. The big advantage here is that there are no ethical issues, no constraints, and there are no risks of cancer formation as, obviously, is a possibility with embryonic stem cells. So no, the answer is there are no ethical issues at all.

McGUIRE :

All right. Well, thanks very much, Professor. Very interesting that to hear what's happening.

Oh hello, Trev, yes.

MARMALADE :

Oh, I thought I'd put my Gilligan hat on. It's like Gilligan's Island here tonight isn't it? We've got the Professor, two millionaires, two skippers and a head hunter.

[Laughter and applause]

McGUIRE :

I'll be Thurston , so long as he's Lovey.

[Laughter]

Thanks …

NEWMAN :

Well, I'm looking forward to it whatever it is.

McGUIRE :

(Laughs) Thanks Professor, and …

NEWMAN :

Yeah, thanks Prof.

McGUIRE :