BioLineRx Ltd.'s experimental drug BL-8040 was safe and well-tolerated as a single agent for mobilizing hematopoietic stem cells in donors, results from an early stage study showed.

Hematopoietic stem cell mobilization is the process of forcing stem cells, which reside in the bone marrow, into the blood stream.

The study met its primary endpoint, which was the collection of enough stem cell from donors for transplant to recipients.

"Currently, hematopoietic stem cells are mobilized from the bone marrow to the peripheral blood using repeated administrations of G-CSF, followed by leukapheresis [separation of white blood cells], with the whole process lasting almost a week. It is therefore encouraging to see these top-line results, supporting the application of BL-8040 as a single agent for rapid mobilization of hematopoietic stem cells after only one injection," said Geoffrey Uy, from the Division of Oncology at the Washington University School of Medicine, and the principal investigator of the study.