Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (LA BioMed) and CellSeed Inc., a Japanese biotechnology firm, have entered into a two-year research agreement to study CellSeed's proprietary core technology in regenerative medicine, "Cell Sheet Engineering," LA BioMed President and CEO David I. Meyer, PhD, announced today.
"LA BioMed is working to accelerate the pace of discovery and development so that new therapies and treatments can safely reach the patients who need them as quickly as possible," said Dr. Meyer. "We look forward to conducting studies to determine the safety and efficacy of the novel cellular therapies developed by CellSeed and to expanding the possibilities of regenerative medicine."
CellSeed has developed a method for taking small quantities of a patient's own progenitor cells and culturing them in a special cell culturing dish. When the cells have grown sufficiently to create a sheet of cells, they are transplanted back into the patient. If the transplant is successful, the cells will differentiate to replace the damaged cells and restore the functions that have been lost. By using the patient's own cells, this technology reduces the risk of tissue rejection and avoids the need to wait for a donor. CellSeed is testing this technology to repair corneal and other tissues damaged by disease.
"For CellSeed, this is a golden opportunity to collaborate with one of the nation's leading biomedical research institutes, where many cutting-edge biomedical and biotechnological innovations have emerged. We believe that the studies with LA BioMed will enable us to bring our successful results in Europe to America. We also anticipate that such studies would give birth to a breakthrough that further advances Cell Sheet Engineering," said Yukio Hasegawa, PhD, CellSeed President and CEO.
CellSeed's clinical trial of its regenerative cornea technology in France is nearing completion, and the necessary paperwork to seek the European Medicines Agency's authorization for commercialization of the process is being completed. The company is also broadening its range of commercial opportunities for regenerative medicine with Cell Sheet products to treat severe heart failure and periodontal disease, regenerate endoscopy-dissected cancerous esophagus and damaged cartilage, and treat other conditions.
"LA BioMed will be participating in a potentially revolutionary technology that, in clinical trials, has restored the vision of blind patients in Europe," said Yutaka Niihara, MD, LA BioMed principal investigator who will lead the research team. "With this agreement, we can conduct the studies needed to meet the requirements for the Food and Drug Administration's approval to bring this promising new technology to American patients."
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