Advancements in medical science are making effective treatments more accessible than ever before. In its development of AAGP®, ProtoKinetix is opening the door to new cell therapies, as well as improving the efficacy of existing cell therapies.

What is cell therapy?

Cell therapy entails the use or transfer of human cells as a treatment for chronic conditions, injury or disease. These therapies have a wealth of potential applications, including restoring affected body parts to a healthy, intact state.

Science has only breached the surface of what is possible with this type of treatment. ProtoKinetix is advancing the possibilities with AAGP®, exploring how this anti-aging glycopeptide could improve transfer results, protect delicate cells, and even heal and repair damaged tissue.

Regenerative medicine, for instance, uses cell therapy to replenish cells, creating a pathway for scientists and doctors to perform organ transplants and other complex procedures safely and effectively. AAGP® could support these activities thanks to its cell preservation properties, perhaps even healing damaged cells within the body.

Examples of cell therapy

You may already be familiar with some of the more common cell therapies, such as blood transfusions. In a blood transfusion, blood cells are transplanted from one individual to another to replace lost blood or to help someone with a blood disorder. Bone marrow transplants are another type of cell therapy, in which damaged cells are replaced with healthy ones.

But there are many more applications for cell therapies than these. Through AAGP®, ProtoKinetix is unlocking the potential of many other types of cell therapies, treating everything from dry eye to diabetes.

For instance, take dry eye disease. Currently, the typical treatment is eye drops. But these only address the symptoms of dry eye disease — not the cause. At ProtoKinetix, we’re developing a topical treatment that uses AAGP® to actually aid in the production of real tears, not artificial ones. Such over-the-counter and prescription products would not only help provide moisture to the eye, but actually target and repair the damaged tear duct cells causing the problem. And it’s all possible with AAGP.®

How cell therapies work

In cell therapies, healthy cells are transplanted to the patient, and the damaged cells may be removed. The healthy cells work like they’re supposed to — whether it’s red blood cells in a blood transfusion or pancreatic islet cells in a patient with diabetes. This allows the body to work better and perform necessary functions, such as hormone secretion.

Some cell therapies use a patient’s own cells, while others depend on another, healthy person’s cells to be transplanted. In both of these instances, AAGP® could help improve the process by preserving the quality of the cell during storage and prior to the procedure. Much like with a whole-organ transplant (another way AAGP® could improve outcomes), the cell-preservation qualities of AAGP® could increase the viability of the cells used in these important procedures.

In fact, ProtoKinetix is currently in Phase 1 clinical trials of the use of AAGP® as a treatment for islet cell transplants used in treating Type 1 diabetes. Islet cell transplants have proven to be an effective treatment for Type 1 diabetes, and we’re encouraged by the high level of efficacy observed in preclinical testing. Safe and successful first-in-human trials could lead to the use of PKX-001, the designation given to the lead drug product molecule of the AAGP® family, as a future treatment to ensure the cell survival of islet cell transplants.

Invest in the future of cell therapy

As promising as AAGP® has been shown to be, we’ve only touched the tip of the iceberg. We believe AAGP® has the potential to make significant improvements to existing and new cell therapies, improving the health and quality of life for millions of people across the globe. But we can’t do it without you.

Investing in ProtoKinetix supports our mission to save cells and change lives. Whether it’s making Type 1 diabetes treatment more accessible, protecting vision for those with degenerative eye disease, or creating readily available treatments that enhance quality of life for people with chronic disease, supporting our work to discover new and proven uses of AAGP® starts with investing in ProtoKinetix. Contact us today or reach out to your broker to learn more.