BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics has signed a definitive agreement with the University of California Irvine Medical Center (UCI) to enroll patients in the planned Phase 3 clinical trial of NurOwn in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), pending FDA and Institutional Review Board approvals. Dr. Namita Goyal has agreed to participate as Principal Investigator at UCI.
UCI has become the third medical center to enter into a clinical trial agreement with BrainStorm to enroll patients in the planned Phase 3 study for NurOwn. Mass. General Hospital (MGH) and California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC) have both agreed to participate in the trial and will be enrolling patients, as announced last week.
"We are privileged to have UCI and Dr. Goyal join our pivotal Phase 3 study of NurOwn," said Chaim Lebovits, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Adding UCI as an enrolling center with Dr. Goyal as Principal Investigator will make the treatment more accessible to patients in California, and we welcome the opportunity to work with this prestigious institution."
Namita Goyal, M.D. is an Associate Clinical Professor of Neurology in the Department of Neurology at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine. She is a specialist in neuromuscular medicine, with board certifications in neurology, electrodiagnostic medicine and neuromuscular medicine. Dr. Goyal completed her residency in neurology at University of Chicago Medical Center, followed by a fellowship in clinical neurophysiology and neuromuscular disease at Harvard University's Massachusetts General Hospital, where she also served as a neuromuscular clinician for several years. Dr. Goyal is currently a treating physician at UC Irvine, with a special focus on ALS, and has been the lead site investigator in several ALS clinical trials.
UCI is also part of the Alpha Stem Cells Clinics Network, which is funded by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). The Alpha Stem Cells Clinics Network is specializing in delivering stem cell clinical trials to patients.