PHARMACY

REGENERATIVE MEDICINE:
ENERGISING TECHNOLOGY
EVOLUTION TOWARDS
FUTURE MEDICINE
by Cecilia Van Cauwenberghe and Sudeep Basu
Although still demanding more specialisation for both
scientists and clinicians, regenerative medicine is
destined to address the most concerning challenges of
current medical therapies.
Cecilia Van Cauwenberghe (cecilia.vancauwenberghe@frost.com), PhD, is an Associate
Fellow, Innovation Services in the TechVision Group at Frost & Sullivan.
Sudeep Basu, PhD, is Global Practice Leader, Innovation Services in the TechVision Group
at Frost & Sullivan.
Focus area 1: Technology
synergy
What are the most prospective
technologies empowering
regenerative medicine?
Developments in stem cell
technology and tissue engineering
combine advanced biomaterials with
small molecules and biologics to
replace or regenerate human tissues
and organs and restore their
functions. Regenerative medical
approaches represent perhaps the
most valuable technological
synergies that have emerged. Some
key innovations in the regenerative
medicine space proving this
remarkable technology synergy are
described in the Table 1.
Lewis et al. 1 illustrate such synergy
among stem cell research, threedimensional
(3D) bioprinting and
nanobiosensing. Adjacent
technologies such as 3D bioprinting
have been used to shape 3D
spheroid cultures. Provided with
magnetic nanoparticles, these
cultures are grown emulating
original environment, keeping the
cells undifferentiated over long
periods before being placed into
the desired tissue ecosystem. They
are then activated to migrate
towards the injured tissue and begin
to differentiate.
Among different types of
nanomaterials, Graphene has
proven to be biocompatible and
conducive scaffolds for stem cells.
Menaa et al. 2 highlight the role of
this two-dimensional nanomaterial in
biomedical research owing to its
intrinsic properties. Notable
advantages include promoting stem
cell adhesion, growth, expansion
and differentiation, without affecting
cell viability.
Why induced pluripotent
stem cells (iPSCs) are in the
spotlight
Pluripotent stem cells can
potentially differentiate themselves
to produce any cell or tissue. In
2006, Yamanaka et.al demonstrated
that pluripotency could be induced
in adult cells using just four
embryonic transcription factors.
Since then, more than 5400 papers
related to iPSCs have been
published worldwide 3 , depicting
progress in the field 4 . Following
academic trends, the development
of cell-based medicines using iPSCs
became one of the main goals
targeted by companies working in
the field of regenerative medicine.
There are several advantages to
iPSCs over pluripotent stem cells.
Directly generated from patient
somatic cells, the utilisation of iPSCs
do not involve the destruction of
preimplantation stage embryos,
thereby circumventing ethical issues
of pre-existing embryonic stem cells
technologies. In addition, this
enables iPSC technologies to create
patient-matched pluripotent stem
cells avoiding immune rejection
after transplantation. Based on
these facts, in the long-term, the
impact of iPSCs is expected to
significantly drive the global market
for advanced stem cell therapeutics.
An excellent discussion covering
applications, challenges and future
perspectives of human iPSCs 5
elucidated how iPSC technology has
evolved. Several recently published
articles chronicle the developments,
including the development and
characterisation of scaffold-free 3D
spheroid models of iPSC-derived
human cardiomyocytes 6 ; and the use
of extracellular vesicles responsible
for mesenchymal stem cell-induced
effects under physiological and
pathological conditions to improve
post-stroke neuro-regeneration and
prevent post-ischaemic
immunosuppression 7 , among others.
However, Yoshihara et al. 8 cite
genomics instability and genetic
variations in iPSCs as a tangible risk
factor for adverse effects, including
malignant consequences. The
researchers emphasise the critical
need for an in-depth understanding
of the origin and functional
outcomes of such genetic mutations
for the successful advancement of
iPSC-based therapies.
Focus area 2: Clinical
translation
What would be the best
perspectives to address
current challenges in
regenerative medicine?
Although clinical translation faces
some challenges, novel
technologies addressing cell
reprogramming are dramatically
reshaping the field. In parallel, the
development of new genome
scanning technologies and products
to detect genome instability is
growing rapidly. Novel methods to
identify genomic aberrations, copy
number variations and singlenucleotide
polymorphisms are
propelling the genome sequencing
market, which is expected to exceed
european INDUSTRIAL PHARMACY December 2016 • Issue 31
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