Emmes – a full-service, global Clinical Research Organization (CRO) dedicated to supporting the advancement of public health and biopharmaceutical innovation – in collaboration with the UC Davis Eye Center, helped coordinate the largest study of its kind using autologous CD34+ stem cells to treat vision loss caused by central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO), a common and often debilitating retinal vascular disease.

CD34+ stem cells are naturally occurring repair cells found in bone marrow that play a key role in vascular healing. In this investigator-initiated study, sponsored by the National Eye Institute, cells were isolated from a patient’s own bone marrow and injected into the eye, with the goal of repairing damaged retinal blood vessels and improving visual function.

A recently completed randomized phase I/II clinical trial demonstrated that intravitreal injection of autologous CD34+ stem cells is well tolerated and feasible, establishing an important safety foundation for future studies. Stem cells were isolated in the GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) laboratory at the UC Davis Institute for Regenerative Cures. As the largest trial of its kind, this study represents a significant milestone in the development of stem cell–based therapies for retinal vascular disease.