The new technology, emerging from TAU's Sagol Center for Regenerative Medicine (SCRM), is approaching its first transplantation in a person with paralysis following spinal cord injury, aiming to restore their ability to stand, walk, and regain their independence.
Biotech company Matricelf, developing a biological neural transplant for treating spinal cord injuries, recently signed a collaboration agreement with Loewenstein Rehabilitation Medical Center of Clalit Health Services. Under this agreement, a process will soon begin to identify and evaluate suitable patients and collect blood samples for the production of personalized neural transplants. The scientific breakthrough is based on a revolutionary organ-engineering technology developed at TAU by Prof. Tal Dvir of the Sagol Center for Regenerative Biotechnology, who also serves as Matricelf’s Chief Scientist.
Loewenstein Rehabilitation Medical Center, one of the world’s leading centers for the rehabilitation of people with spinal cord injuries, is responsible for the collaboration's clinical aspects, including the identification and evaluation of patients and supporting them throughout the process. Once a suitable patient is found and consents to participate, a blood sample will be taken from them for the production of induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs).
These cells will constitute the cellular component of the autologous neural transplant - an transplant produced individually for each patient from their own cells. According to the company, this is a significant step in the transition from the stage of scientific development to preparation for clinical implementation, building the infrastructure required for the first transplantation in a human patient.
Since the production of each personalized transplant takes several months, the early collection of blood samples enables simultaneous advancement of the regulatory process, to prepare for the first treatment. Accordingly, Matricelf estimates that, if everything proceeds as planned, it will be possible to complete the process and begin treatment of the selected patient in the first half of 2027.
The agreement with Loewenstein, Israel’s largest and one of the world’s most prominent rehabilitation centers, complements Matricelf's collaboration with Sheba Medical Center, where the first transplantation procedure is expected to be performed. Loewenstein will join Sheba’s neurological rehabilitation team in supporting patient identification, evaluation, preparation and rehabilitation throughout the clinical process.
Gil Hakim, CEO of Matricelf: “We are reaching a defining moment for Matricelf and for the technology we have been developing. Bringing together the rehabilitation expertise of Loewenstein and Sheba, together with Sheba’s surgical capabilities, creates a strong clinical framework as we prepare for the first transplantation in a patient. Our goal is to translate years of scientific development into a treatment that could ultimately change what is possible for people living with spinal cord injury. We still have important scientific and regulatory milestones ahead, but we are now moving from the laboratory toward the clinic.”
Matricelf’s technology is based on an innovation originating from the laboratory of Prof. Tal Dvir at TAU's Sagol Center for Regenerative Medicine. A personalized neural transplant is produced from the patient’s own cells and tissues - a kind of biological “spare part” for replacing the damaged tissue - and then transplanted in the area of the spinal cord injury. By using the patient’s own cells and tissues the researchers intend to reduce the risk of transplant rejection and improve its integration into the body.
At the same time, Matricelf emphasizes that the collaboration with Loewenstein Rehabilitation Medical Center and the beginning of the patient identification process do not constitute approval to begin the clinical trial or to perform transplantations in humans. Treatment can begin only after all scientific and regulatory milestones have been completed and final approval has been received from the Ministry of Health.
Dr. Dianne Michaeli, Deputy Director of the Orenstein Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Department at Loewenstein Rehabilitation Medical Center: “The Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Department at Loewenstein is a leader in this field in Israel, with extensive experience in treating people with complex spinal cord injuries. Our in-depth familiarity with the patients and their rehabilitation processes enables us to contribute to the identification and evaluation of suitable candidates for the study. The collaboration with Matricelf connects Loewenstein’s clinical and rehabilitation expertise with innovative regenerative medicine technology, in the hope that in the future it will be possible to offer new treatment options to people living with paralysis due to spinal cord injury.”