InVivo looks to blaze ‘Bioengineered Neural Trails’ in spinal cord injury treatment

InVivo Therapeutics (NSDQ:NVIV) said today it is looking to ‘Bioengineered Neural Trails’, injectable biomaterial and neural stem mixtures, to help treat chronic spinal cord injuries.

The Cambridge, Mass.-based company said it will focus its research efforts on the new therapy, and has inked agreements with the University of California, UC San Diego and Dr. James Guest to expand its intellectual property portfolio.

“Our goal is to restore neuronal connectivity and thereby promote neurological recovery in people with chronic SCI. Our minimally-invasive therapeutic approach is to bridge the spinal cord lesion at the time of implantation with a trail of NSCs delivered in an injectable and biodegradable soft, gel-like scaffold. We look forward to presenting our preclinical results in the spinal cords of small and large animals during the Key Opinion Leader Event and Company Update on Thursday,” CSO Dr. Tom Ulich said in a press release.

Through its agreements, InVivo gained exclusive licensing for UC San Diego’s patented “Spinal Multisegmental Cell and Drug Delivery System” and Dr. Guest’s “Method and System for Cellular Transplantation in the Spinal Cord,” InVivo said.

The company said it  filed a provisional application to support a program for its Bioengineered Neural Trails, titled “Methods and Systems for Delivery of a Trail of a Therapeutic Substance.”

“We are excited about our novel Bioengineered Neural Trails program for the treatment of chronic spinal cord injury. The newly secured patents along with our provisional patent application provide the intellectual property foundation for our Bioengineered Neural Trails program,” CEO Mark Perrin said in prepared remarks.

In October, InVivo Therapeutics said it won a nod from the FDA to double the enrollment in a clinical trial of its neuro-spinal scaffold.

Cambridge, Mass.-based InVivo enrolled the 5th patient in the pilot study in September. Its bioabsorbable device is designed to treat acute spinal cord injuries.

The FDA approved the expansion of enrollment in the pilot study from 5 to 10 patients. InVivo said it plans to transition the pilot study into a pivotal probable benefit trial and use it as the basis for a bid for humanitarian device exemption from the U.S. safety watchdog.

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