CellCAN aims to link Canadian strengths in stem cell therapy and personalized medicine

The funding may be modest but the backers of CellCAN have ambitious plans for advancing the use of stem cell therapy in personalized medicine. Spun off from the Stem Cell Network (SCN) — a traditional Network of Centres of Excellence (NCE) due to sunset next year — CellCAN leverages the significant investments made in stem cell research by linking cell manufacturing centres with several with other key players in the stem cell research ecosystem.

In operation since 2009, CellCAN recently received $1.6 million from the NCE's Knowledge Mobilization Initiative Networks (NCE-KM), augmented by $400,000 from the Hopital Maisonneuve-Rosemont Foundation and $1 million from participating organizations (see chart). With administrative headquarters at the Centre de recherché Hopital Maisonneuve-Rosemont (CRHMR), it plans to become self-sufficient within four years by standardizing practices and promoting treatments for diseases such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease.

"We orient people doing research towards the centres with scientific expertise, equipment and technological expertise. We're bringing together the cell manufacturers and building a network," says Dr Denis Claude Roy, CellCAN's director, CRHMR‘s scientific director and director of its Cellular Therapy Laboratory. "We're uniting the areas of cell manufacturing and basic and applied research under one common goal and strategy."

The core of five cell therapy centres may expand once a new cell therapy centre in Winnipeg is completed. The proposed McMaster-Fraunhofer Project Centre for Biomedical Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing is also a candidate if the project comes to fruition (see page 6).

CellCAN is collaborating with the Canadian National Transplant Research Centre (CNTRP), an initiative of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research's Institute of Infection and Immunity. Roy says the combination of expertise assembled under CellCAN makes it unique globally.

"There's lots that's already been invested so it's all about efficiency and minimizing costs and sharing procedures, patient samples and expertise between the cell therapy centres — knowledge to take to the clinic," says Roy. "I'm not aware of any international group that has been able to assemble a group of people committed to bringing cell therapy to patients."

"Personalized medicine is a significant driver for us and for Canada. By being united we can offer a broad spectrum of expertise to pull our efforts together to address varied needs. There's a huge range."

Roy says the NCE funding supports a much needed channel for stem cell manufacturing centres, discovery and clinical sites to share knowledge and practices. Patients are also providing input and future outreach includes a website, webinars and newsletters. CellCAN representatives will also participate in seminars nationally and internationally, sharing expertise.

Industry engagement

Plans are also moving forward to forge all-important linkages with industry.

"We want to link with industry and each centre already has these links. It's early days but commercialization is coming. There are a lot of Phase I and Phase II clinical trials and some Phase III trials are occurring," says Roy. "Some companies are already going ahead with cell therapy. Novartis and Pfizer are investing significantly because there's huge potential to use stem cells to repair organs. It's simpler than a single molecule because stem cells can adjust. Our objective is to link further with industry and make it more aware of cell manufacturing possibilities."

In addition to big pharma and biotechnology firms, representatives from law, economics and communications are also part of the network.

"We're building on our strengths and not just reinventing the wheel. Knowledge producers, knowledge users and end users are all engaged," says Roy. "Health Canada is highly supportive of us although they stay at arm's length as they have to evaluate our protocols and make sure the regulations are in line with the cell therapy industry."

Stem Cell Network legacy

For the SCN, CellCAN is both a continuation and expansion of its efforts to support pre-clinical studies and provide a coordinating function.

"We forged an important community that has strategic strength internationally and our research paved the road leading to clinical trials. CellCAN is a very important legacy for the SCN," says Dr Michael Rudnicki, SCN's scientific director and director of the Regenerative Medicine Program and the Sprott Centre for Stem Cell Research at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. "Three million dollars is a start but additional funding will be needed to fill the gap of a national organization that organizes facilities so they can speak with one voice."

Rudnicki says Canada continues to rank highly internationally and will continue to punch above its weight through CellCAN, the Stem Cell Foundation (another SCN spin-off) and the recently formed Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine (CCRM) (R$, August 27/13).

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