Neuralstem licenses spinal cord injection technology from Cleveland Clinic

The three inventions Neuralstem has licensed from Cleveland Clinic are: a stabilized platform and microelectrode recording guidance validation, a floating cannula for spinal cord therapeutic injection, and a spinal platform and methods for delivering a therapeutic agent to a spinal cord target. All of these are for use in spinal cord surgery for the delivery of therapeutics.

Neuralstem will use this technology in its clinical trial for amytrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig’s disease. The company anticipates filing its investigational new drug application with the FDA for the ALS trial in the next few weeks, and hopes to start the trial early in 2009.

Richard Garr, Neuralstem’s president and CEO, said: “We are very pleased to have licensed-in these important delivery technology rights. As we get ready to move into our expected human trial for ALS, we are focused on the optimal way to deliver our cell therapeutics to enhance the safety and efficacy of the treatments.

“Transplanting our cells directly into the spinal cord is a challenging but necessary part of trying to treat diseases of the spinal cord, not only in ALS, but in other spinal cord injuries and diseases.”