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news.StemCells, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, has received a $305,000 grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to research and develop a potential cell-based therapeutic for liver disease arising from infection by the hepatitis C virus.
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The grant will fund work over the next year to investigate whether the company’s proprietary human liver engrafting cells can be made resistant to infection by the hepatitis C virus.
The studies will be done in collaboration with Jeffrey Glenn, associate professor of gastroenterology and hepatology at Stanford University School of Medicine.
This award is a Phase I grant under the small business innovation research (SBIR) program of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Should the objectives of the research funded by this grant be met, the company anticipates applying for Phase II and additional funding under the SBIR program.
Maria Millan, vice president and head of the liver program at StemCells, said: “By supporting this project, the NIH recognizes the potential for this novel cell-based approach to combat hepatitis C.”