T&R Biofab, a 3D bioprinting company, said Thursday that it has obtained a Japanese patent for heart disease treatment technology using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).
The technology is used to manufacture a 3D micro cardiac spheroid, a three-dimensional heart structure of uniform 100 micrometers in size. As the transplanted heart structure is microscopic with the size of 100 micrometers, it can also be conducted with just a closed catheterization without opening chests.
The company has confirmed that preclinical trials of the technology showed high survival rates even in hypoxic environments of the in-vivo transplant while showing regenerative and functional recovery effects of damaged heart tissue after transplantation.
Currently, only one Japanese company uses 3D myocardial cell aggregation technology using iPSCs to treat heart diseases. T&R Biofab said it had decided to keep the company name secret, citing cut-throat competition in this area. In June last year, the Japanese company licensed out the technology at 780 billion won ($600 million).
T&R Biofab emphasized that the patented technology can be freeze-stored for long in the form of aggregates, immediately administered to heart disease or ischemic chronic heart failure patients, and quickly applied to clinically approved catheters without new regulations.
"Obtaining the Japanese patent is significant, considering that the iPSC technology originated in Japan where competition remains fierce even among the Japanese companies and research institutions, demonstrating the innovation and excellence of T&R Biofab’s technology," CTO Shim Jin-hyung said.
"Positive results are expected in the patent examination also underway in the U. S., Europe, and China, and progress will be made with future exports and commercialization of the technology." Shim added.
T&R Biofab completed the registration of domestic patents for the technology in 2020. The following year, the government selected it as a project in its interagency regenerative medical project.
Clinical Translational Medicine has published the research results