(Oct. 11) — A patient suffering from a spinal cord injury has become the first recipient of an experimental, and highly controversial, human embryonic stem cell treatment.
Geron Corp., the biopharmaceutical group behind the phase I clinical trial, made the groundbreaking announcement earlier today.
The company is the only one to have FDA approval for human embryonic stem cell trials.
Little information about the patient has been released, but the Geron trial is designed to test the safety of embryonic stem cell therapy for newly sustained thoracic spinal cord injuries.
“Initiating the GRNOPC1 clinical trial is a milestone for the field of human embryonic stem cell-based therapies,” Thomas B. Okarma, Geron’s president and CEO, said in a press release.
Full Story: Spinal Cord Patient Is First to Undergo Geron Corp.’s Experimental Stem Cell Procedure