Stem cells changed the landscape of medicine with a new approach of regenerative medicine. It has a promising future for patients suffering from medical conditions that currently lack successful standard treatments, said Vipul Jain, chief executive officer, Advancells.
Therefore stem cells is the future of modern medicine. It is the core of the new medical revolution with the ability to repair or rejuvenate any body part that has got diseased due to a trauma or an ailment, Jain told Pharmabiz in an email.
These are the smart cells of our body with a remarkable potential to develop into different cell types in the body during early life and growth. In addition, in many tissues they serve as a sort of internal repair system, dividing essentially without limit to replenish other cells as long as the person is alive. When a stem cell divides, each new cell has the potential either to remain a stem cell or become another type of cell with a more specialized function, such as a muscle cell, a red blood cell, or a brain cell, helping to treat the injured area.
Currently stem cell therapy is approved to be used in about 11 diseases which are primarily cancers of the blood in both paediatric as well as adult use. Other forms of therapy are currently only permissible under strict trial basis where the institute has to take permission from ICMR to conduct a clinical trial and adhere to all the clinical trial requirements. The government has been very proactive in taking the clinical trial results to the next level and has given limited marketing approval to several stem cell products and procedures where successful usage of stem cells has been proven based on qualified clinical trial results approved by the ICMR.
Advancells also works on writing protocols for partner doctors and hospitals which they can use for treating the patients using regenerative medicine. The company was also associated with Champions of Change – Transforming India through G2B (government to business) partnership” initiative of PM Narendra Modi’s government.
“We have the technology where cells can be prepared from various sources such as bone marrow, adipose tissue, dental pulp, skin etc. It is a rapidly developing field and offers hope of effective treatment for a variety of degenerative diseases such as Autism, Parkinson’s, Alzheimers, multiple sclerosis etc. Though there are challenges, stem cell therapy is an emerging field of medicine that shows positive advances through various human clinical trials”, said Jain.