BioVoice News April 2017 Issue 11 Volume 1 | Page 44

bio chat The main regulatory challenges facing us is harmonization of guidelines on stem cells by different regulatory agencies in our country. It becomes difficult to follow each and every guideline as they are different from each other in several aspects line are (a) Trichosera for Hair application and (b) Optisera for under eye application. Stempeutics is looking for strong, strategic partner to market these innovative products developed from Growth Factors/Cytokines secreted by adult stem cells The third product Stempeutics is developing is Stempeutron™ medical device. It is a point-of- care, closed system, automated medical device 44 BioVoiceNews | April 2017 for the isolation of stromal vascular fraction (SVF) cells from human adipose tissue for addressing the need in the broad field of regenerative medicine. Stempeutron™ is the first product to use novel robotic and filtration technology to isolate clinical grade SVF from adipose tissue. SVF has broad clinical utility in regenerative medicine for repair of diseased organs as well as in plastic and reconstructive surgery. The device is under development How do you look at the policy and regulatory environment in India? What are the challenges? The regulatory environment is evolving in our country. There are existing National Stem Cell Guidelines by Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) and the Guidance Document for Regulatory Approvals of Stem Cell and Cell Based Products (SCCPs) by CDSCO. Both these documents are in the process of revision and we hope that the revised document will be available this year. We need to appreciate the efforts taken by DCGI and ICMR in this area. But the main regulatory challenges facing us is harmonization of guidelines on stem cells by different regulatory agencies in our country. It becomes difficult to follow each guideline as they are different from each other in several aspects. These guidelines should be harmonized. Also, these guidelines should be converted to legislation so that unethical use of stem cells which is prevailing in our country can be curbed. Other challenges in the field are lack of trained manpower, keeping pace with technological advancement and getting funding from external agencies in this niche area of development. What are the key goals of the company in next five years? Our key business goals for the next five years includes establishing strategic alliance with