LifeCell, the Chennai based cord blood banking major, is all set to launch Plureon Placental stem cells from placental tissues as a new source for stem cells in India for the first time.
LifeCell will be launching this in India in collaboration with Cryo-Cell International Inc. The Cryo-Cell has launched the Plureon Service three months before in the US and LifeCell expects to introduce the service in India by March 2007, informed S Abhayakumar, vice chairman, LifeCell to Pharmabiz.
Plureon cells, a novel type of placental stem cells, is usually discarded as medical waste and has recently been discovered to be a rich source of unique, pluripotent stem cells under the research of Cryo-Cell. These placental stem cells are highly proliferate and have the ability to easily become bone, nerve, muscle, fat, pancreatic, and liver cells. The stem cells from this type is expected to be useful in future treatment of chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and liver disease, according to the company sources.
Plureon cells, a specific type of stem cells from placental tissues, have already been found successful in animal trials to cure diabetes. The pancreatic cells formed by Plureon cells have produced functional insulin-secreting tissue in animal models, as the result of the trials.
"The number of cells in placental cells is almost 10 times more than what we can collect from Umbilical cord blood cells, epithelial cells and mesenchymal stem cells. This will enable us to provide more cells in all the organ transplants and also lead to decrease of host to graft rejection rates," explained Abhayakumar. The new type of cells has demonstrated great potential in the laboratory for breakthroughs in regenerative medicine.
A team of scientists from LifeCell's research wing has already completed training on handling the particular tissues from Cryo-Cell, and the new source would go through official procedures to be launched in the expected time, informed company sources. The company has readily set target to introduce its third source, which would be directly from the Umbilical cord tissues in the due course of time after the launch of placental stem cells, they added.
The company is envisaged to launch its public cord blood banking service by December 2006. The data collection procedures and the entire regulatory procedures have been completed and the company is on a process to store the stocks for a few months in advance. As Pharmabiz reported earlier, LifeCell has plans to launch the public cord blood banking service, the first of its kind in India, by April 2006. The company sources informed that the project has been postponed due to various technical hazards, and the service is ready to launch by the end of the year.
LifeCell has also announced its plans to establish 31 collection centres in India and five centres in other countries within the current financial year. The company which has already floated 18 cord stem cell collection centres including all the major cities, will now launch the centres on 13 the B class cities like Bhopal, Indore and Patna within the period. It has also set target to cover 10,000 members by March 2007, to commence clinical trials for stroke, Alzheimer's disease and spinal cord disorders and to initiate a number of therapy oriented projects including the basic studies, added Abhayakumar.