Embryo-Like Stem Cells Enter First Human Trial
By David Cyranoski,
Nature
| 02. 14. 2013
It will be the first clinical study to put induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells into humans — and where more fitting than in Japan, where Shinya Yamanaka garnered a Nobel prize last December for showing how to take bodily cells and return them to an embryo-like pluripotent state.
Masayo Takahashi of the
Center for Developmental Biology in Kobe just cleared the second and, observers say, most difficult hurdle in starting her iPS cell trial to treat age-related macular degeneration, a condition that affects the retina and can lead to blindness.
On Wednesday an institutional review board (IRB) at the
Institute for Biomedical Research and Innovation (IBRI), which is going to sponsor the trial, gave conditional approval. The team needs now only to notify the IRB of the final results of some preclinical safety trials now underway (
see story in Japanese).
Having already received IRB approval at her home institution, Takahashi can now move towards the final step before patient recruitment: getting health ministry approval. She’s expected receive that in time for starting the trials during this fiscal year...
Related Articles
By Emma Belmonte, ChinaFile | 10.03.2025
On the popular Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote, an account called “Georgia Notes” (@格鲁吉亚小纸条) offers tips and advice to Chinese nationals planning a trip to the Republic of Georgia. In one post...
By Karin Hammarberg, Alex Polyakov, Catherine Mills, and Karinne Ludlow, The Conversation | 10.03.2025
Reports of several cases of embryo and sperm mix-ups have put the Australian fertility industry in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
These bungles have raised serious questions about the industry’s current model of self-regulation, and demonstrate a lack...
By Jared Whitlock, Endpoints News | 10.09.2025
When Nirnay Murthy learned about a treatment for his toddler son’s rare condition, relief quickly gave way to disappointment.
A one-time gene therapy called Zolgensma from the Swiss drugmaker Novartis can halt spinal muscular atrophy, a deadly condition that causes...
By Karin Hammarberg and Catherine Mills, BioNews | 10.13.2025
The Australian fertility industry has been rocked by several recent cases of embryo and sperm mix-ups. With a lack of transparency about what clinics do to prevent such errors recurring, trust and confidence in the industry and how it is...