Patients will receive injections containing millions of their own stem cells, which have been extracted and multiplied up in a laboratory, and can regenerate new tissue to repair damaged regions.

More than 1,500 race horses have been treated using the same process and follow-up data suggests a 50 percent reduction in re-injury over a three year period, compared with conventional treatment.

The procedure involves the collection of the patient’s own bone marrow, followed by isolation and expansion of a mesenchymal stem cell-rich cell population in the laboratory. Cells are re-suspended at a specified concentration and implanted directly into the lesion using ultrasound guidance. Thereafter the patient enters a controlled rehabilitation programme to promote regeneration of the tendon or ligament.

MedCell has, to date, treated approximately 1000 equine athletes in order to demonstrate proof of principle at the clinical level. Outcome measures in the racehorses treated by MedCell show that around 70% have returned to performance (moderate to severe injuries) with a re-injury rate of 17%.

The human pilot study will explore the safety and tolerability of the use of autologous cells to treat Achilles tendonitis. This will be carried out in 24 patients for whom standard treatment has failed to resolve the tendonitis.