“This is a critical step towards providing a potential breakthrough therapy that could help premature babies in Canada and around the world.” - Dr. Bernard ThébaudDr. Bernard Thébaud and colleagues received $638,000 from the Stem Cell Network with in-kind matching funds from MDTB Cells GmbH to conduct a phase 1 clinical trial of umbilical cord cell therapy for premature babies. It is hoped that this therapy will help babies with a chronic lung disease called bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), the most common complication of preterm birth. 

The trial will determine whether this therapy is safe and feasible for these babies. The findings will support a larger Canadian Phase II clinical trial to test whether the therapy can effectively treat BPD. 

Dr. Thébaud’s group was the first to show that this therapy repaired newborn lung injury in animals in the lab. They have since assembled an international multidisciplinary team to help bring this novel cell therapy to the clinic.

“This is a critical step towards providing a potential breakthrough therapy that could help premature babies in Canada and around the world.” - Dr. Bernard Thébaud, neonatologist and senior scientist at The Ottawa Hospital and CHEO and professor at the University of Ottawa.

Dr. Thébaud’s research is also possible because of funding from the Ontario Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, The Ottawa Hospital Foundation and the CHEO Foundation.

Collaborators: Dean Fergusson, Justin Presseau, Kednapa Thavorn, Brigitte Lemyre, Mario Ruediger, Nadya Ben Fadel, Robert Jankov, Jana Feberova, David Courtman

The Ottawa Hospital is a leading academic health, research and learning hospital proudly affiliated with the University of Ottawa.  

Media Contact

Amelia Buchanan
Senior Communication Specialist
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
Office: 613-798-5555 x 73687
Cell: 613-297-8315
ambuchanan@ohri.ca