ABC RADIO NATIONAL TRANSCRIPT

Following is a transcript of an interview broadcast on ABC Radio National on Thursday 7 April 2005 with Mesoblast Founder and Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor Silviu Itescu. The interview was broadcast to an estimated national audience of more than 250,000 people.

FRAN KELLY – PRESENTER :

Well, imagine a medical therapy that could regrow bones and cartilage, regenerate damaged heart muscle and prevent heart failure. Science fiction, fantasy, at least, surely, something way ahead in the future. Well, not according to a leading Australia n scientist.

Professor Silviu Itescu is one of the world's leading researchers and a pioneer in the use of adult stem cells in treating orthopaedic and cardiovascular conditions. He's also the Founder and Chief Scientific Adviser to Australia n biotechnology company, Mesoblast, which will start human trials of adult stem cell therapy later this year.

Silviu Itescu joins us on the line from Melbourne now. Silviu, good morning.

SILVIU ITESCU – MESOBLAST FOUNDER :

Good morning.

KELLY :

In laboratory trials, your latest lab trials, you were able to regrow bone and cartilage. Can you tell us about that?

ITESCU :

Yes, we're using unusual population of cells that are present in all of us in adults that can be accessed fairly simply and grown up in large numbers. This is work from various groups and our key scientists from University of Adelaide and the Hanson Institute over more than ten years. We've demonstrated that these specialised types of adult stem cells can generate new bone, new cartilage, new arteries, new muscle.

KELLY :

And you've actually done that, you've actually seen that grow?

ITESCU :

Yes, they go very well in the laboratory, and we implant them into large animals, in sheep with defects as large as five centimetres in their femurs, in their large limbs. We can repair them within several months, very dramatically actually, a significant improvement in bone growth and, yes, the animals are able to wait there and walk around.

KELLY :

And what about growing new arteries in heart muscles?

ITESCU :

What we've been able to do is to inject these human cells into rat models of heart attacks, and we get large numbers of new arteries around the heart attack area. And what that does is it prevents the damage incurred after the heart attack and prevents heart muscle death and prevents heart failure in these models.

KELLY :

On the surface, this looks like very exciting news for, you know, all those thousands of people every year who have heart disease. Also, for sports people and those in sports medicine, I think.

ITESCU :

Well, I think that's right; very common injuries to the knee, to the ankle, to the cartilage and to the tendons. We are certainly looking at rebuilding cartilage and tendons in sportsmen, and I think this is a large area of need.

But, I think, cartilage in the knee joints is a real major problem in people as we age, and it's a real major health issue due to the common problem of osteoarthritis in general.

KELLY :

These are adult stem cells that have been used in these trials. Where did you harvest them from?

ITESCU :

The particular cells that we've used have been taken from the bone marrow, but we know that these cells are present throughout the body in various tissues. And really, what we now understand is that, as you get older, you have a finite amount of these type of stem cells. So, it's generally better to access them from young, healthy, robust individuals. And whilst initially, the initial clinical trials as we move forward will use your own cells, grow them up and give them back to a particular person, the long term hope is that we'll be able to use banked universal donor-type cells, because of unique immune properties of these cells that allows them to not be rejected by the immune system of unrelated individuals.

KELLY :

Silviu, in recent times in Australia there's been a very passionate and sometimes divisive debate about the use of stem cells – embryonic versus adult stem cells – some opposed to the notion of embryonic stem cells on ethical grounds. What do you think? Do you support embryonic stem cell research?

ITESCU :

Look, you know, I'm fundamentally a scientist and I support all forms of research. I think that it's very important for us to look at all possibilities and methods to improve health care in general, and I think that you have to keep an open mind at the moment as to which type of stem cell's going to be best for which type of medical condition.

KELLY :

You've talked about cartilage, you've talked about knee replacements, heart surgery; what about Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis …

KELLY :

… illnesses like that?

ITESCU :

Well, what is clear to me at this point is that adult stem cells are going to be perfectly adequate for the treatment of the conditions that we're targeting, such as orthopaedic and cardiovascular. They may have other applications, potentially in the neurologic area, but I think, at this point in time, it's an open question, and I think embryonic stem cell research should proceed certainly in the neurologic area; Parkinson's disease; diabetes has been an area that seems to be fruitful in that field. So, I think both forms of research need to progress in parallel, and we'll see which type of stem cell therapy is applicable – best - for any particular condition.

KELLY :

Silviu, thanks very much for talking to us today.

ITESCU :

Thank you.

KELLY :

That's Professor Silviu Itescu, one of the world's leading researchers and a pioneer in the use of stem cells. He's also the Chief Scientific Adviser to Australia n biotechnology company, Mesoblast.

END OF SEGMENT

For further information, please call:

Julie Meldrum
Mesoblast Limited
0419 228 128
julie.meldrum@mesoblast.com

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