Cardiac cells derived from iPS cells

Kenji Kakuta, President & CEO, iHeart Japan Corporation

iHeart Japan is a venture company, established in 2013, to develop iPS cell-derived regenerative medicinal products for heart failure. The base technologies were invented by Prof. Jun Yamashita at Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, Kyoto University. We have successfully raised money from venture capital funds, and have obtained several Governmental grants. iHeart Japan is tied-up with Takara Bio Inc. in Japan, China, South Korea and India, who has been already selling cardiomyocytes etc. as research tools licensed by iHeart.
In this presentation, I will introduce iPS cell-derived layered cardiac cell sheets, one of the main products under development. We are able to layer so many cardiac cell sheets differentiated from iPS cells by special lamination technology using gelatin hydrogel microspheres. Without such special technology, cells in laminated cell sheets shall not live so long, due to lack of oxygen and nutrition. On the other hand, our lamination technology keeps them alive for one week, at least. Furthermore, efficacy of the layered cardiac cell sheets was indicated by two animal studies of rats and pigs for myocardial infarction.
We are aiming to start a clinical trial in 2020. In parallel with the preparation for the clinical trial, we have also started preparing for clinical research at Kyoto University. The potential market size is expected to exceed ¥25 billion in Japan. We are seeking for partnerships with major companies to fulfill our mission to save patients around the world.

[Mentors' comments]
"Many companies are interested in regenerative medicine because it is cutting-edge technology. Depending on the patent status, it is a very attractive technology for larger than medium-sized pharmaceutical companies." Sham Nikam, Takeda Pharmaceutical

"While regenerative medicine is a very hot field, there are issues that need to be addressed, such as the production efficiency of iPS cells and whether or not significantly better therapeutic effects can be achieved than with standard therapy, in addition to licensing issues." Dong Wu, Johnson & Johnson INNOVATION

[Speaker Profile]
Prior to iHeart Japan Corporation, he worked for investment company, being in charge of venture capital investment in bio-tech companies.
iHeart Japan Corporation website: http://www.iheartjapan.jp/en_index.html

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