At the South Beach Symposium on advances in modern dermatology in Miami Beach, clinical and scientific researchers from Kimera Labs met with a group of well-respected dermatologists and oncologists to discuss exosome research and development…
These physicians bring years of experience in clinical medicine and research including numerous investigational trials for FDA approval. During the meeting, Kimera Labs researchers and its Medical Advisory Board members discussed strategic clinical indications for mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes (MSC exosomes) within medical and aesthetic dermatology, as well as potential exosome-based therapy for cancer.
Preclinical research including in vitro studies, evaluating the effects of MSC exosomes on cellular behavior in the laboratory, and in vivo studies, evaluating the effects of these exosomes in animal models of disease, have demonstrated biological activity of MSC exosomes that would be potentially beneficial for a diverse group of dermatologic applications. Some of these in vitro studies have indicated improved activity of cells involved with wound healing, including fibroblasts, keratinocytes and endothelial cells. Other in vitro studies have demonstrated regeneration of dermal papilla cells, progenitor cells which contribute to the development of the hair follicle. In vivo studies of MSC exosomes have shown accelerated wound healing, reduction in scarring, modulation of the thermal injury in burns, reduced inflammation in dermatitis as well as improved growth of hair follicles.
Similar preclinical research in cellular and animal models of cancer has shown the potential ability of perinatal MSC exosomes to suppress the proliferation of cancer cells and the growth of tumors. Other studies have explored the potential of MSC exosomes as a delivery system for anti-neoplastic drugs or biologics, as a vaccine for specific tumor antigens and as a means to rescue normal tissue damaged by chemotherapy or radiation. These studies may indicate the potential of MSC exosomes for investigational trials as a mode of biologic therapy for many types of cancer.
The objective of the Kimera Labs Medical Advisory Board meetings was to identify potential indications for the study of isolated, perinatal MSC exosomes and to optimize the protocols for clinical investigation. With the guidance of the Medical Advisory Boards, Kimera Labs is preparing investigational new drug applications for several specific clinical indications, in an effort to advance the use MSC exosomes as future biopharmaceutical drugs for treatment of many different clinical conditions.