Incontinent Urinary Diversion Using an Autologous Neo-Urinary Conduit

The NUC under investigation is a regenerative medicine product comprised of the patient's own smooth muscle cells, procured from a fat biopsy. Tengion has developed appropriate culture conditions to reproducibly generate the necessary quantities of SMC in vitro from autologous adipose tissue biopsies. The NUC is produced at Tengion's Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) qualified clinical production facility. In this process, smooth muscle cells (SMC) obtained from an adipose tissue biopsy are propagated ex-vivo for approximately 3 - 4 weeks. At the end of this process, the SMCs are seeded onto the surface of a biodegradable PGA/PLGA mesh scaffold to form the NUC. The NUC is shipped to the investigative site for surgical implantation. Over time, the NUC should facilitate the regeneration of urinary tract tissue.

Inclusion criteria

• Male and female subjects 18 - 80 years of age
• Patients undergoing radical cystectomy for treatment of bladder cancer clinically staged as no greater than T2, N0
• Indicated and agreed between physician investigator and patient to have an incontinent conduit as the diversion mechanism of choice post cystectomy

Exclusion criteria

• History of other cancer within the past 5 years (except non metastatic prostate or non melanoma skin cancer)
• Evidence of cancer metastasis
• History of any pelvic radiation or non-pelvic radiation within past 5 years
• Debilitating cardiac or pulmonary disease
• Expected need for chemotherapy within 3 months post cystectomy
• Life expectancy less than 2 years