Entest Biomedical Inc. announced that it has filed a grant application with the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) for the development of the Company's ENT-576 Laser Device to be used in treating Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Should the Company's application be approved, the NHLBI could provide grant funding of approximately $500,000 to Entest.
Grant funding will accelerate the process of developing the Company's patent pending laser-based therapeutic platform to enhance efficacy levels in stem cell therapy among patients with COPD. Entest's patent-pending approach revolves around the use of the patient's own stem cells in combination with specific laser wavelengths in repairing damaged lung tissue of patients with COPD.
David Koos, Chairman & CEO of Entest Biomedical, states: "We are excited about the outlook for our Laser Device (ENT-576). The Entest approach involves administration of an FDA-approved drug that releases stem cells from the bone marrow followed by administration of optimized laser energy into lung tissue. We believe this treatment to be relatively non-invasive compared to other stem cell therapies involving cell extraction and manipulation."
Both components of the ENT-576 product have previously been clinically used for other indications. The Company believes it can get this technology to market quickly - making regenerative therapy finally available to COPD patients.