Sitoa Global Signs Letter of Intent With UCSF

Sitoa Global and the University of California San Francisco have signed a letter of intent to negotiate an option agreement for the license of a stereotactic device to deliver stem cells directly into the brain.

According to Sitoa, more than 9 million patients in the U.S. suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy and other neurological disorders could benefit from the injection of stem cells into the brain. Currently available therapies involve inserting large, hard needles into single locations in the brain, which limits the size and shape of the area that can be treated.

Sitoa’s device represents a major step forward, said Arnold Kriegstein, director of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCSF. “The device really fills an unserved need” by permitting the delivery of cells rather than chemicals or drugs, he told Device Daily Bulletin. “[T]he technology up until now has largely consisted of hypodermic needles, which work well for fluids, but not so well for living cells, and this device really allows delivery of the large number of cells necessary for therapy and the precise targeting of structures within the brain.”

Hong Kong-based Sitoa says the device will allow surgeons to enter the brain multiple times, ensuring more effective treatment. The company hopes it will become the standard for stem cell delivery to brain. — Lena Freund

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