Japan to produce stem cell medicines

TOKYO (AFP) — Japanese government experts endorsed on Thursday groundbreaking projects to manufacture regenerative medicine products to treat heart diseases and Parkinson’s, media reports said.

Approved by the expert panel, the products now await a final green light from the health ministry.

National broadcaster NHK and other major media said that if approved, these could be the world’s first commercially available medical products that use induced Pluripotent Stem (iPS) cells.

Japanese scientist Shinya Yamanaka won the Nobel Prize in 2012 for his research into iPS, which have the potential to develop into any cell in the body.

He celebrated the reported approval, and said more has to be done to help patients in need.

The proposals include ReHeart, heart muscle sheets developed by medical startup Cuorips that can help form new blood vessels and restore heart function, Kyodo News said.

Sumitomo Pharma and Racthera’s Amchepry would help patients with Parkinson’s disease, Kyodo added.

Health ministry officials could not be reached immediately for comment.

iPS cells are created by stimulating mature, already specialized, cells back into a juvenile state — basically cloning without the need for an embryo.

The cells can be transformed into a range of different types of cells, and their use is a key sector of medical research.