Sep 21, 2020
Airfreight for Covid-19 therapy: Umbilical cord cells sent from Dresden to Canada
Nadine Münch and Dr. Daniel Freund from the CRTD sent the first batch of mesenchymal stromal cells via dry shipper at -190°C to Canada
Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) obtained at the CRTD from the umbilical cord of healthy newborns could soon save severely ill Covid-19 patients. In a collaborative project of the University Hospital Dresden, the Medical Faculty and the GMP Facility of the CRTD of TU Dresden, a method was developed and patented, in which these cells are isolated from the umbilical cord tissue, processed and multiplied. In a further collaborative project with scientists from the Ontario Institute for Regenerative Medicine in Ottawa / Canada, these cells are now being used to support the therapy of critically ill Covid-19 patients.
"Some days ago we shipped the first of three batches which has now been received in Ottawa by our Canadian colleagues. The cells flew at -190°C in a small dry shipper from Dresden to Ottawa", explains Dr. Daniel Freund, who has been involved in the process development since 2014 and is responsible for the production of the cells as head of the GMP facility of the CRTD. "Thanks to the help of our colleague Dr. Marius Möbius from the team of Prof. Mario Rüdiger at the pediatric clinic, suitable umbilical cord donations for the isolation of the cells could be recruited in the last two months. From these, over three billion MSCs were generated – a very personnel-intensive task. These cells are obtained from a waste product of birth without additional risks for the donor, they are significantly younger than the MSCs obtained from conventional bone marrow donations and can easily be expanded in the laboratory to the quantities required for cell therapies. The high immune regulatory potential of the cells makes them a good candidate that could effectively treat the aggressive inflammatory processes in severe Covid-19 courses."
This year, two additional batches of MSCs are to be shipped from Dresden to Canada to support the study there, in which severely ill Covid-19 patients are participating. But also in Dresden the cells obtained at the CRTD will be used - not only in Covid-19 patients.
Further information:
Dr. Daniel Freund