Disease Fact Sheet: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
Clinical Status: While cell-based therapy could become a viable treatment option for clinical application for lung disease in the future, there is no definitive evidence that these cells have a therapeutic benefit. Furthermore, there are still many significant factors to be considered in any future trials such as the best source of MSCs; the route of administration and the most effective dose to trial before MSC administration is considered a safe and effective treatment option. More basic research is needed to further develop the possible use of epithelial cells as a cell-based therapy for lung disease, even before clinical trials can be done.
At present there are no licensed cell-based therapies for lung diseases in the U.S or globally (Ikonomou et al 2019; Sipp et al. 2017). It is critical that patients are well informed regarding the current lack of efficacious cell-based therapeutic options. Patients considering such treatments need to understand that current cell-based therapies for lung disease are unproven, experimental, and are not under appropriate regulatory oversight.