Stem cell research offers the hope to cure or alleviate many of today's most devastating diseases, reducing Canada's health care burden and creating new economic opportunities. Since Canadian researchers Drs. James Till and Ernest McCulloch first proved the existence of stem cells over 40 years ago, Canada has played a leading role in this field, contributing to the development of several lifesaving therapies, such as bone-marrow transplantation to treat cancer.

Over the next seven years, the Stem Cell Network will fund a portfolio of research projects investigating potential therapies for cancer, type 1 diabetes, heart and lung disease, stroke, Parkinson's disease, macular degeneration, multiple sclerosis, muscle degeneration, hemophilia, and spinal cord injury. By 2015, the SCN expects the majority of these applications to be in early phase clinical trials.

More than 42,000 people worldwide have been treated using blood stem cells to renew their blood supply. Typically, the source of these stem cells has been bone marrow. Bone marrow transplants have become a standard of care for the treatment of certain cancers, and more recent evidence suggests this approach could also be used to treat other conditions such as multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes.

Since the late 1980s, there has also been increasing evidence that stem cells taken from umbilical cord blood can also be a rich source of blood stem cells. However, the number of stem cells in a single cord is insufficient to treat an adult. SCN researchers believe they can expand the cell supply from a single cord with the help of new technology being developed by Network partners such as InSception Biosciences of Toronto. Researchers are also developing protocols to allow more than one cord to be used at a time. If preliminary results hold up, SCN researchers plan to work with clinicians to undertake two clinical trials in 2008 and 2009 to validate these approaches.

If successful, these approaches will significantly increase the demand for cord blood in Canada and around the world. As a result, the SCN recently funded a project to examine the business case for establishing a public cord blood bank in Canada that could maintain the volume and genetic diversity of cord blood required to meet the long term needs of Canadians. The project brought together all major stakeholders including Health Canada, Canadian Blood Services, the private cord blood banking industry, international organizations responsible for setting and maintaining regulatory guidelines governing the collection and use of cord blood, transplant physicians and cord blood investigators. The group reached consensus on the need for a public cord blood bank, and Canadian Blood Services is now developing a full business case for the provincial and territorial health ministers.

Created by the SCN in 2006, Aggregate Therapeutics Inc. is a development-stage regenerative-medicine company that has an exclusive first right to negotiate the commercialization of stem cell technologies from the laboratories of 37 leading Canadian scientists. The company uses a portfolio approach to commercialize therapeutic products for large markets with unmet clinical needs. It aggregates complementary technologies and leverages them across a common development platform, management team and source of capital. This approach gives the company critical mass and lowers the risk, cost, and time to market in developing and commercializing stem cell-based therapeutic products.

Idiopathic Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension is a debilitating and often deadly lung condition affecting as many as 10,000 Canadians. Support from the Network is allowing Northern Therapeutics, a Canadian biotechnology company founded by SCN researchers, to initiate Phase II clinical trials to test a new stem cell-mediated gene therapy to treat this condition. Beyond the immediate medical benefits expected to flow from this trial, which is taking place in Toronto and Montreal, the Network is also ensuring the best practices learned in establishing the requisite cell-handling facilities are being shared with other hospitals across Canada.

Stem Cell Network - SCN (2001 - 2012)
Focus:	To be a catalyst for enabling translation of stem cell research into clinical applications, commercial products or public policy.
Funding:	$63.62 million for entire funding period
Strength:	96 researchers and 455 Highly Qualified Personnel
Partnership Power:	167 industry, public service and academic partners
Scientific Director:	Dr. Michael Rudnicki
Web site:	www.stemcellnetwork.ca