Company announces stem cell therapy for animals

Some animals will now be able to receive stem cell therapy thanks to the efforts of Charlottetown-based company Chemaphor Inc.
The bioscience company recently announced a new procedure which uses stem cells to cure minor tissue and joint damage in horses and dogs.
Using a thimble-sized extraction of fat tissue from a dog's abdomen or a horse's hindquarters, the company then harvests viable cells from the sample and injects them back into the affected area.
Because stem cells are not fully developed cells, once injected into an area of the body they take on the form of the cells surrounding them before continuing to grow.
The procedure has so far been proven to cure or at least aid in the healing process in damaged tendons and joints in both dogs and horses, something David Hankinson, director of Nutrisciences with Chemaphor Inc., considers a phenomenal breakthrough.
"The quality of life for the animal is really what it is all about," Hankinson said.
"Pet owners are becoming known as pet parents. People want their animals to have the same level of treatment and care humans do."
Chemaphor Inc. is currently the only company in Canada offering this type of stem cell therapy, which Hankinson stressed is a painless yet effective procedure.
Depending on how severe the damage to the animal, progress can be seen anywhere from two or three days to two or three weeks.
Likewise, full recovery is not guaranteed.
While the company boasts an 80 per cent cure rate after testing 4,000 animals, there is still a chance the damage will never be repaired.
"Some animals may never go back to where they were," Hankinson said.
"But it increases the quality of life."
As for further advances using this knowledge Hankinson said Chemaphor Inc., has only touched the tip of the iceberg, adding the company is continuing stem cell work and hopes to see how far they can take it.