Healthcare

Cell-in-a-Box™ solves some of the problems created by implanting live cells into human beings.

Cell therapy describes the process of introducing new cells into a body in order to treat a disease. Many new types of medical treatments are now being developed based on living mammalian cells and experts in the field agree that cell therapy will be the next big revolution in pharmaceuticals; the first since monoclonal antibodies. In such approaches, stem cells or other therapeutic cells are implanted or injected into the patient to enable their therapeutic action. Usually this is achieved by producing a healing factor directly or by signaling to other cells and stimulating healing indirectly.

There are some problems when living cells are added into the body

• cells do not always stay where they are injected or there is a limited time for their localised action before they wander off or are removed by micro-environmental influences
• the cells may be rejected by the immune system
• if the cells are not rejected by the immune system they can eventually trigger unwanted effects
• the cells themselves have the potential to turn tumourigenic.

Cell-in-a-Box™ technology overcomes all these challenges:

• due to the size of Cell-in-a-Box™ capsules, millions of cells can easily be fixed in one location, capsules can be infused, injected or implanted into almost any tissue, organ or location in the body
• the Cell-in-a-Box™ capsule material is biologically inert, meaning that it doesn’t cause any immune reaction or inflammation
• the capsules protect the cells from the immune system; the pores are too small for an immune cell to get inside, and even too small to allow antibodies significant access
• once the cells have done their job the Cell-in-a-Box™ capsules can be removed (depending on implantation location)
• by being safely enclosed in the Cell-in-a-Box™ capsules they cannot potentially form tumours.

Some potential applications for Cell-in-a-Box™ technology

• CARDIO-VASCULAR
  • Peripheral Artery disease
  • Coronary Thrombosis
• DEGENERATIVE DISEASE
  • Alzheimer’s disease
  • Parkinson’s disease
  • Stroke
• INFECTIOUS DISEASE
  • Hepatitis C Virus
  • West Nile
  • Dengue
  • Influenza
  • HIV
• INHERITED DISEASE
  • Human Growth Hormone Deficiency
  • Chronic Granulomatous (CGD)
  • Muckle-Wells syndrome (MWS)
  • Gyrate atrophy
• IMMUNE FUNCTIONS
  • Antigens
  • Interleukins
  • Co-stimulatory molecules
• METABOLIC DISEASE
  • Gaucher’s disease
  • Haemophilia
• ONCOLOGY
  • Suicide Gene/Prodrug
  • Anti-Angiogenic factors
  • Drug sensitivity testing
• TRANSPLANTATION
  • Diabetes
  • Hypercholesterolaemia