“It’s my hope that through this research, our tiny patients will have a better chance to thrive, grow up, and have an impact on the world around them,” said Dr. Thébaud.Dr. Bernard Thébaud has been awarded two grants from the Stem Cell Network to advance the development of cell- and gene-based approaches to treat infants with lung diseases.
The first grant, worth $1.1 million, will support a Phase 2 clinical trial of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) to treat bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in premature babies. This trial, which is also funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, builds on Dr. Thébaud’s world-first trial of MSC therapy in nine preterm babies, which is expected to be published in the coming year.
Dr. Thébaud was also awarded $649,000 to advance the development of a gene-based therapy for surfactant protein B deficiency, a rare but deadly genetic disease that affects newborn lung development. This grant will fund efficient large-scale manufacturing of the gene therapy and further preclinical safety testing, which is required before a clinical trial in babies can begin.
“It’s my hope that through this research, our tiny patients will have a better chance to thrive, grow up, and have an impact on the world around them,” said Dr. Thébaud, a neonatologist and senior scientist at The Ottawa Hospital and CHEO, professor at the University of Ottawa and Canada Research Chair in Lung Stem Cell Biology and Regeneration.
Team members named on both grants: Laurent Renesme, Emanuela Ferretti, Dean Fergusson, David Courtman, Mario Ruediger, Elizabeth Asztalos, Marc Beltempo, Mireille Guillot, Amit Mukerji, Anne-Monique Nuyt, Georg Schmölzer, Prakesh Shah, Maher Shahroor, Rebecca Grimwood, Chantal Horth, Tim Ramsay, Ranjeeta Mallick, Sarah Wootton, Jennifer Quizi. Cores: Biotherapeutics Manufacturing Centre, Ottawa Methods Centre.
The Ottawa Hospital is a leading academic health, research and learning hospital proudly affiliated with the University of Ottawa and supported by The Ottawa Hospital Foundation. All researchers at The Ottawa Hospital follow a Responsible Innovation Framework for developing and commercializing innovations in a responsible way.
