Ready-made stem cell therapies for pets could be coming

Earlier this week, San Diego startup Gallant announced $18 million in funding to bring the first FDA-approved ready-to-use stem cell therapy to veterinary medicine. If it passes regulatory muster, it could create a whole new way to treat our fur babies. It’s still an experimental field, even though people have been researching stem cells for humans for decades. Seven-year-old Gallant’s first target is a painful mouth condition in cats called Feline Chronic Gingivostomatitis (FCGS), which Gallant says could receive FDA approval by early 2026. The field has shown some encouraging early results. Studies on dogs with arthritis showed improvements in pain and mobility, with some benefits lasting up to two years. But when researchers tried similar treatments for kidney disease in cats — that’s another condition Gallant wants to tackle — the results were more mixed. What makes Gallant’s approach different is convenience. Most stem cell treatments today require harvesting cells from the pa