The department of Biotechnology has chipped in Rs.200 crore to establish a the ‘iStem’ at the Bangalore campus of National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) which will focus on training and basic research.
The first dedicated institute for stem cell forms a part of the national ‘bio-cluster’ or an industry interaction platform of which NCBS and the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP) are part. It will work in co-ordination with the NCBS and C-CAMP to form the Bangalore bio cluster where it will develop technology and enable entrepreneurship initiatives. The effort would also be to comprehend the mechanism of stem cells and its potential to treat degenerative diseases.
Stem cell therapy holds considerable promise as an adjuvant if not as an alternate therapy. But the medical fraternity needs to offer therapy backed by scientific data proving its safety and efficacy. Therefore setting up of ‘iStem’ will give a boost to research and training, according to experts
The research and application of therapies using adult bone marrow autologous and allogneic cell transplant has been in vogue for the last five yeaRs.Now the government of India through the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) had laid down guidelines for stem cell research and therapy in 2007 but now the guidelines which have been further modified after industry input are in the final phase of approval.
Globally, Osaris Inc. is well on schedule with stem cell products in place to go for Phase II b and phase III trials. In India, it is Stempeutics which is part of the Manipal Group received the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) clearance for its Investigational Medicinal Product “Stempeucel” to conduct phase II clinical trials. The human studies are for patients suffering from osteoarthritis, diabetes mellitus – type2, liver cirrhosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
In the last few years, there has been considerable growth in the stem cell therapies with leading hospitals using stem cells to adopt treatment adhering to patient consent and highest quality practices. These include International Stemcell Services Limited, Manipal Hospital, Narayana Hrudayalaya, Jain Institute of Vascular Sciences (JIVAS), BGS Global Hospital in Bangalore, Medanta Medicity in Delhi, Sion Hospital in Mumbai PGI Chandigarh among otheRs.There are extensive research efforts on at the CMC Vellore, LV Prasad Eye Institute at Hyderabad National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), at New Delhi and Centre for Cell and Molecular Biology (CCMB) at Hyderabad.
Industry estimates that the global stem cell market in 2010 was around Rs.900 crore ($20 billion). It is the adult stem cell therapy which accounts for over 60 per cent of this market. In India the market is valued at around Rs.500 crore.