Clinical Trials
OIRM supports cell therapy clinical trials in Ontario through funding for its large Disease Teams program. Currently, OIRM is directly supporting one clinical trial (septic shock) and several other research projects where clinical trials may launch in 1-4 years. Through programs and workshops led by OIRM’s Clinical Translation Initiative, we help build capacity and expertise for new clinical trials to find success in the future.
In addition, through the ongoing research at The Ottawa Hospital, a small number of patients with severe autoimmune diseases have been treated using chemotherapy and blood stem cell transplants outside of clinical trials and supported through the provincial health care system. The diseases are:
- Multiple sclerosis (see lay summary and research paper)
- Myasthenia gravis (see lay summary and research paper)
- Scleroderma (see patient story; procedure based on European clinical trial)
- Stiff person syndrome (see patient story and research paper)
If you are a patient or caregiver seeking information about clinical trials, we recommend you review our About Clinical Trials page. For more information about current and upcoming clinical trials in Ontario, see the list below.
Current Ontario clinical trials
Duncan Stewart – OHRI
| Investigators | Trial Name (click for more information) | Condition | Phase |
| Mark Freedman and Harry Atkins – OHRI | Safety and efficacy of intravenous autologous mesenchymal stem cells for MS: a phase 2 proof of concept study (MESCAMS) | Multiple Sclerosis | II |
| Terry Yau – UHN | Safety and efficacy of intramyocaridal injection of mesenchymal precursor cells on myocardial function in left ventricular assist device receipients | Heart failure | II |
| Duncan Stewart – OHRI | The enhanced angiogenic cell therapy – acute myocardial infarction trial (ENACT-AMI) | Heart failure | II |
| Gary Levy- UHN | Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for Allogenic Organ Transplant Tolerance (ASCOTT) | Liver transplant | II-III |
| Duncan Stewart- OHRI | SAPPHIRE Trial for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension | Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension | II |
This trial listing is also available in the graphic format for download and sharing. Click the link below.
Trials launching soon:
| Investigators | Trial Name | Condition | Phase |
| Lauralyn McIntyre – OHRI | Cellular immunotherapy for septic shock-(CISS2): A Phase II Multicenter Clinical Trial | Septic Shock | II |
| Don Mabbott – SickKids | Metformin for Motor and Cognitive Improvement in Children with Cerebral Palsy | Cerebral Palsy | II |
| Ann Yeh and Don Mabbott – SickKids | Metformin to stimulate brain repair in children with Multiple Sclerosis | Multiple Sclerosis | II |
Recently completed trials:
| Investigators | Trial Name | Condition | Phase |
| Lauralyn McIntyre – OHRI | Cellular immunotherapy for septic shock (CISS): A Phase I Trial | Septic Shock | I |
| Terrence Yau – UHN | IMPACT-CABG Trial: IMPlantation of Autologous CD133+ sTem Cells in Patients Undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (IMPACT-CABG) | Heart Failure | II |
| Jas Chahal & Sowmya Viswanathan – UHN | Human autologous MSCs for the treatment of mid to late stage knee OA | Osteoarthritis | I-II |
| Don Mabbott – SickKids | Placebo controlled double blind crossover trial of metformin for brain repair in children with cranial-spinal radiation for medullablastoma | Brain tumours | III |
| Alan Getgood – Fowler Kennedy Sports Medicine Clinic | Confirmatory Study of NeoCart in Knee Cartilage Repair | Cartilage repair in joints | III |
| Armand Keating – UHN | Safety study looking at the use of genetically-modified autologous stem cells for the treatment of males with Fabry disease | Fabry Disease | I |