Spine fusion for Mesoblast

Preclinical trials of Mesoblast’s [ASX: MSB] allogenic stem cells for cervical spine fusion have been very promising.

Use of the company's stem cells has been shown to be an effective and safe method of interbody fusion of the cervical spine in the neck, the company said.

The results come after an announcement by the US FDA that the current leading treatment, recombinant human Bone Morphogenetic Protein [rhBMP], can cause life threatening complications when used in the cervical spine.

According to the FDA, rhBMP, when used for cervical fusion, can cause swelling of the neck and throat tissue, which can result in compression of the airway and neurological structures in the neck.

Fusion of the cervical spine accounts for up to 40 per cent of all spinal fusion procedures.