FAQ

More information about GID BIO and cellular therapy

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Most common questions

Frequently ask questions

With cellular therapy, a patient’s own cells can be used in an entirely natural way to repair and regenerate tissues or control pain and inflammation. Cells are harvested from either fat (adipose) or bone marrow and separated and concentrated to create a therapeutic cellular implant, delivered using a needle injection.

Existing therapies for OA include short-term symptomatic pain relief from hyaluronic acid and corticosteroid injections and total knee replacement for severe OA.

Stromal vascular fraction (SVF) is a class of nucleated cells extracted from fat tissue (adipose tissue) that are separated and concentrated to create a therapeutic cellular implant, delivered using a needle injection.

The cells of the blood include leukocyte cells and hematopoietic progenitor cells (nucleated cell types) as well as erythrocytes and platelets (non-nucleated cell types). These blood cells are not capable of repair or regeneration of stromal or vascular tissues. Stromal and vascular cells (SVF) are nucleated cells derived from stromal and vascular tissues present in the adipose tissue matrix. The SVF cells are capable of stromal and vascular tissue repair and regeneration.

Review the latest research and support for SVF in musculoskeletal, dermal and organ treatments here.

The stromal cells isolated from adipose tissue are a heterogeneous mix of cell types, including a small naturally occurring concentration of stem cells.

OA affects over 27 million adults in the U.S.1

  1. Neogi T. The epidemiology and impact of pain in osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 2013;21(9):1145-1153. Link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3753584/

Costs attributed to OA significantly burden the US healthcare system. Total costs average almost $200 billion each year.1 Therapy costs (TKR, viscosupplementation, steroid injection) exceed $50 billion annually in the US.

More than 700,000 total knee replacement surgeries are performed in the United States annually.2

In the last decade, the number of total knee replacements performed annually in the United States has doubled.3

  1. Kotlarz H, Gunnarsson CL, Fang H, Rizzo JA. Insurer and out-of-pocket costs of osteoarthritis in the US: evidence from national survey data. Arthritis Rheum. 2009;60(12):3546-3553. Link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19950287
  2. Martin GM. Patient education: total knee replacement (arthroplasty) (beyond the basics). UpToDate website. Published June 2017. Accessed November 15, 2017. Link: https://www.uptodate.com/contents/search?search=total-knee-replacement-arthroplasty-beyond-%20the-basics
  3. Weinstein AM, Rome BN, Reichmann WM, et al. Estimating the burden of total knee replacement in the United States. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2013;95(5):385-392. Link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3748969/

Total knee replacement costs average over $50,000 per procedure1 and vary widely.

About 1 in 20 (5%) patients experience significant complications following total knee replacement surgery.2

Patients undergoing total knee replacement surgery undergo a prolonged recovery time.3

Nearly 20% of TKR patients continued to work fewer hours 1-year postoperatively.4

  1. Greengard S. Understanding knee replacement costs: what’s on the bill? Healthline website. Published October 2017. Accessed November 15, 2017. Link: https://www.healthline.com/health/total-knee-replacement-surgery/understanding-costs#1
  2. Knee replacement surgery. Arthritis Research UK website. Published June 2015. Accessed November 15, 2017. Link: https://www.versusarthritis.org/
  3. Greengard S, Carey E. Recovery timeline for TKR: rehabilitation stages and physical therapy. Healthline website. Published May 2017. Accessed November 15, 2017. Link: https://www.healthline.com/health/total-knee-replacement-surgery/rehabilitation-timeline
  4. Tilbury C, Leichtenberg C. S., Tordoir R. L. Return to work after total hip and knee arthroplasty: results from a clinical study. Rheumatol Int. 2015; 35(12): 2059–2067. Link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4651988/

Autologous stem cells are cells that come from your own body while allogeneic stem cells come from someone else. The body precisely tolerates its own autologous cells but has a very strong immune reaction to cells that are not its own. For cellular treatment, allogeneic stem cells must be cultured long enough so that they are immune-compromised, and patients typically take immune-suppression drugs to better tolerate them. Autologous stem cells are preferred for regenerative therapy because they are precisely tolerated in the body.

Autologous cells (your own cells) eliminate the immune response and rejection of the cellular implant compared to allogeneic cells (someone else’s cells).

There are no autologous stem cell therapies that have been approved by the FDA.

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