General Competition (April 1992)

Human Stem Cell and Hematopoietic Expansion Systems

Sponsor: Aastrom Biosciences, Inc.

• Project Performance Period: 7/1/1992 - 6/30/1994
• Total project (est.): $2,733,904.00
• Requested ATP funds: $1,220,375.00

Once exotic and experimental, bone marrow transplant has become a standard therapy in the U.S. A particular growth area is autologous bone marrow transplant (ABMT), in which the patient's own bone marrow is first harvested for safe-keeping and then replaced after high-dose cancer chemotherapy. Because the "rescued" bone marrow cells can produce mature blood cells quickly, ABMT allows patients to tolerate very high doses of chemotherapy with less risk of infection and bleeding. Physicians are rapidly increasing the use of ABMT in the treatment of a variety of cancers. Previously incurable patients are now being cured. Although ABMT has clear therapeutic advantages, it remains a difficult, fairly risky, and expensive procedure. Aastrom, in cooperation with the University of Michigan, is developing a laboratory-scale prototype bioreactor able to maintain small quantities of human stem cells -- the key component of bone marrow -- outside the body. Aastrom plans to develop this proof-of-concept prototype into a bioreactor capable of culturing and growing bone marrow cells. The Aastrom bioreactor could do away with the need for hospitalization to obtain sufficient bone marrow for ABMT, greatly reducing costs and risks of an increasingly popular procedure. The proposed procedure offers the potential of removing tumor cells and other undesirables in the bone marrow as well. In its current rudimentary form the bioreactor is only suitable for growing bone marrow cells; further advances may make it possible to grow blood cells themselves, supplementing the blood donor system.

For project information:

Dr. R. Douglas Armstrong, (313) 930-5555

ATP Project Manager

Linda Schilling, (301) 975-2887
linda.schilling@nist.gov