As stem cell therapy in India advances st Several studies have shown the potential of regeneration of cardiac tissue post

stroke by injection of stem cells into the damaged heart during a by-pass procedure. Mayur Abhaya, Executive Director, LifeCell Internationalsays, "These have shown long-term safety and improvement in the heart performance. Based on the success of these several companies have initiated FDA approved clinical trials which have now advanced to phase II stage. The FDA and American Heart Association recognise the value of stem cells and have published specific guidances to accelerate the uptake into clinical settings. Even if large scale studies are completed once with long-term patient follow-ups, studies could get regulatory approval. DBT too has sponsored a few studies in this area." In the ocular space, large pharma companies such as Pfizer have already initiated clinical trials. Several institutes in India are already using autologous mesenchymal stem cells for corneal regeneration in large scale. Regenerative medicine facilitates the natural healing processes for a damaged tissue. Strategies that are currently under development across the globe include transplants of stem cells, the manipulation of the patient's own stem cells, and the use of scaffold materials that emit biochemical signals to spur stem cells into action. Work continues to progress on regenerative therapies that have been seen to heal broken bones, bad burns, blindness, deafness, heart damage, nerve damage, Parkinson's disease, amongst others. Gajaria shares his projection bridge with well-known live, "The regenerative medicine and stem cell technologies market is expected to grow to a $500 billion business globally over the next 20 years. Recognising the potential, several institutes and companies have ventured into this field in India. InStem, AIIMS, LV Prasad Eye Institute, Centre for Stem Cell Research at CMC Vellore and NCCS are some institutes focusing on regeneration of damaged muscles due to heart attack, stroke or cornea damage. Private sector efforts have also started to come to the forefront in this field. There has been significant progress in respect of treatment for myocardial infarction/stroke using stem cell therapies. Several clinical trials are being conducted in this country in these domains. Reliance Life Sciences is offering autologous bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells for myocardial repair and limbal stem cells' processing services for corneal damage. Projecting the future Stem cells research has been acknowledged to have a strong potential as a regenerative medicine to provide means to repair/replace tissues damaged by several diseases. In India, disease-specific brainstorming sessions have been organised in areas like cardiac, stroke, limb ischemia and orthopedics in order to look for probable applications of stem cells in these areas. Stem cell therapies seem to have a good scope for application especially in cardiovascular, neurological and ocular disorders. Abhaya highlights, "Apart from haematological malignancies where stem cells are commonly used, other disease areas such cardiovascular, vascular, ocular, and orthopaedic applications are where we believe stem cell applications would be used significantly in the near future. These are degenerative diseases which are of higher incidence rates, and hence very large in terms of business opportunities. Currently more than 300 clinical trials at different phases are being conducted globally. Early clinical data shows a lot promise and it is estimated that one in 10 surgeons would be using stem cells as an adjunct therapy in the coming decade. In India, over 55

programmes have reportedly been identified and supported on various aspects of stem cell research till now. Therefore, India has a unique opportunity to develop these areas of stem cell therapies in a scientifically rigorous manner.