KOSDAQ-listed S.Biomedics was strong early on the 14th. Buying is seen as flocking to the stock on news that Phase 1 clinical results in patients with Parkinson's disease were published in the leading journal Cell.
As of 9:52 a.m. that day, S.Biomedics was trading at 29,400 won, up 1,800 won (6.52%) from the previous session.
S.Biomedics, a company specializing in cell therapy development, and a joint research team at Severance Hospital said that day that clinical results from transplanting dopamine stem cells into patients with Parkinson's disease were reported in Cell.
Parkinson's disease occurs as nerve cells degenerate and dopamine secreted in the brain decreases. As symptoms progress, muscles stiffen or tremble, motor function declines sharply, and in severe cases dementia symptoms can appear. Until now, there has been virtually no fundamental treatment other than taking dopamine supplements.
The researchers conducted a clinical trial to transplant dopamine nerve cells made from embryonic stem cells into patients, the first such trial in Asia and the second in the world. Embryonic stem cells from a fertilized egg—where sperm and egg meet—are primitive cells that grow into all cells of the human body.
In the trial, patients were divided into groups of six and given low-dose (3.15 million cells) and high-dose (6.3 million cells) dopamine cell therapies directly into the brain, then followed for one year. The patients enrolled had not responded to existing treatments, but their symptoms improved significantly after dopamine cell therapy.
One patient who had stopped conducting an orchestra due to hand tremors from Parkinson's disease was able to take up the baton again after cell therapy. The researchers said that a patient who had struggled even to walk is now enjoying table tennis and badminton after receiving cell therapy. Based on these results, the team plans to proceed to Phase 2b/3 trials with more patients.