Stem cell treatment for heart attack

TORONTO (Reuters) – Angiotech Pharmaceuticals and partner Athersys Inc said on Thursday their early-stage clinical trial of a stem cell therapy for heart attack patients showed improved heart function and was well-tolerated at all dosages.

Shares of Vancouver-based Angiotech climbed 10 percent late on Thursday afternoon to 57 Canadian cents on the Toronto Stock Exchange. U.S.-based Athersys was up 0.5 percent at $3.18 on the Nasdaq.

Patients undergoing the MultiStem treatment displayed mild to moderate side effects, Angiotech said.

Data from the early-stage trial suggested that treated patients showed improvements in heart function compared with patients receiving standard care, it said.

The update of the phase I clinical trial was based on four months of post-treatment data.

The companies said they are planning a subsequent clinical study, with trials expected in begin in 2011.

This week, Athersys said MultiStem also received orphan drug status in the United States for the prevention of a condition that causes immunologic attacks in bone-marrow transplant patients.

This is a designation granted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to drugs that treat a condition affecting less than 200,000 Americans. It grants the drugmaker marketing exclusivity for seven years in the United States after approval.

($1=$1.03 Canadian)

(Reporting by Solarina Ho; editing by Peter Galloway)