Entest (OTBB: ENTB) Stem Cell Therapy for Treating Canine Hip Dysplasia

Difficult to prevent and treat, canine hip dysplasia is among the most studied and the most frustrating diseases in veterinary medicine.  Canine hip dysplasia is a developmental orthopedic disease in which an abnormal formation of the hip leads to looseness in the hip joints, causing cartilage damage.  Progressive arthritis can result, and when it does, it can be crippling. 

• One out of every four dogs will get hip dysplasia;
• Entest and RenovoCyte are researching the use of Medistem's Canine Endometrial Regenerative Cells (CERCs) as part of a treatment for canine hip dysplasia;
• Entest's McDonald Animal Hospital will serve as clinical base for studies.

Entest BioMedical Inc. (OTCBB: ENTB) announced last week their collaboration with RenovoCyte LLC and Medistem Inc. to explore the development of a stem cell therapy for treating hip dysplasia in dogs.

Pfizer pioneered the market for dog painkillers when it introduced Rimadyl in 1997. Nearly 15 million dogs have taken it, many for pain from degenerative joint disease, or osteoarthritis. Rimadyl now has four competitors with more likely. The market for dog arthritis pain medications tops $130 million a year and is growing about 13% a year, consulting firm Wood Mackenzie says.

Entest's Chairman & CEO, David Koos, stated in the press release:

"Our Company is extremely excited about clinically applying Medistem's Canine Endometrial Regenerative Cells (CERCs) and RenovoCyte's Investigational New Animal Drug (INAD) protocols at our McDonald Animal Hospital. Entest views this collaboration as a major step in developing veterinary therapeutics that increase the quality of life for our pets."

Both RenovoCyte's CEO Dr. Erik Woods and Medistem's Chairman Vladimir Bogin, M.D., stated they anticipate these CERCs will reduce the inflammation and the degenerative nature of hip dysplasia in dogs.

Entest noted that once efficacy is demonstrated in treating hip dysplasia, the door will be wide open for collaboration to expand its focus to treating other veterinary conditions that are lacking a good treatment model. The Entest BioMedical model continues to focus on the development of regenerative and immunological therapies for veterinary applications. ENTB is focused on:

• Veterinary therapies that harness the animal's own reparative and immunological mechanisms.
• An immuno-therapeutic cancer vaccine for canines (ImenVax™).
• Acquiring veterinary hospitals as both a source of near term revenue and as a distribution channel for its veterinary therapies and treatments. As part of this mission, Entest purchased the McDonald Animal Hospital on January 4, 2011, which serves to both generate revenue and provide the initial part of Entest's distribution channel.