Recently, VetStem CEO and founder, Dr. Bob Harman, was invited to present data at a global symposium for a deadly elephant virus known as Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus (EEHV). EEHV is a lethal viral infection that affects Asian elephants and now, increasingly, African elephants and can cause a highly fatal hemorrhagic disease.

The symposium was a three-day virtual event put on by the North American EEHV Advisory Group. It is a meeting where top researchers, veterinarians, and elephant husbandry colleagues from across the globe get together to present case reports, research findings, vaccine research, and treatment options. The EEHV Advisory Group aims to decrease elephant sickness and death due to EEHV and to provide “peer-reviewed, accurate information that reflects current thinking on the research and management of EEHV in both wild and captive elephants globally.”

Dr. Harman was invited to speak about the use of VetStem Cell Therapy in elephants afflicted with EEHV. VetStem has provided stem cell doses to several zoos in the United States who had elephants with EEHV and has gathered some promising data. While it is still very early, we are optimistic that stem cell therapy may be a viable treatment option for elephants with EEHV. Stem cells have numerous mechanisms of action, including the secretion of molecules that are anti-viral. In this limited set of elephants with severe EEHV, the stem cells seemed to be very effective though much research is still needed to verify the proper dose and timing of this novel therapy.

Interestingly enough, the idea to treat EEHV with stem cells came from our human clinical trial for COVID-19. As you may know, our human company, Personalized Stem Cells, developed and secured FDA approval for a stem cell clinical trial to treat COVID-19. The initial Phase 1 clinical trial, which was licensed to and conducted by Sorrento Therapeutics, had an extremely positive safety and efficacy profile and resulted in multiple ongoing Phase 2 clinical trials.

VetStem invites inquiries from public and private zoos across the United States who have questions or interest in participating in this novel stem cell EEHV therapy development with VetStem’s veterinary research team. Contact VetStem directly here.