Organ transplants without lifelong immunosuppression

What's the news: Kidney transplant patients are able to stop immunosuppressants after a year thanks to new stem cell therapy.

Why should we believe it: This news is based on results announced yesterday by biotech company Medeor Therapeutics. Medeor's Phase 3 study has been following 30 kidney transplant patients since 2018. 20 of those patients were treated with MDR-101, Medeor's stem cell therapy.

The goal of the therapy is to achieve mixed chimerism, where both donor and recipient immune cells end up in the recipient's body, boosting immune tolerance and reducing the need for lifelong immunosuppressants. Results:

• 12 of 20 treated patients were able to go off immunosuppressants after a year

• 4 of the remaining 8 patients are still in the trial, and have had no need for immunosuppressants

• 3 patients had to go back on immunosuppressants, and one left the trial

• There was a similar level of "adverse events" between control and treatment groups

Why this is a big deal: There are 25,000 kidney transplants in the US each year, and over 40,000 organ transplants total. The transplants can be life-saving, but they also come with the need for lifelong immunosuppressant drugs, which can have nasty and serious side effects.

In addition, an immune reaction in the recipient's body often means the transplants don't take. The current therapy promises to be a way around both of these problems.

So what's next: The results above come while Medeor's study is still ongoing. The study is expected to wrap up in 2024. If the results hold up until the end of the study, it's likely that Medeor will apply for FDA approval to roll its treatment out to kidney patients nationwide.