A startup using placental stem cells to produce regenerative medicines and cell therapies has just successfully raised USD 250 million.
Their hope is that using stem cell-based treatments for diseases such as cancer and immune disorders may allow people to delay aging.
“It strengthens human immunity to help people fight cancer and immune-system diseases, extending longevity and bringing longer, healthier lives.” Diamandis said.
Dr. Diamandis and Dr. Hariri
Celularity's work consists of 3 parts
First is biological supplies. The company currently owns LifebankUSA, which stores umbilical cord blood and placental materials for new parents.
Second is developing restorative and regenerative therapies used to treat wounds or replace tissue during surgery. Celularity acquired 2 therapies currently in use from Alliqua BioMedical this past month 1.
The company is also developing cell therapies using placental stem cells in the hope they can treat cancer, similar to approved CAR-T cell therapy, which reengineers a patient's own cells to pursue cancer cells. The goal is to use stem cells to make these therapies more widely applicable and less personalized.
Celularity began with 70 million USD in capital and raised another 170 million USD. Former Apple and Pepsi CEO John Sculley and Section 32's Bill Maris are among its board members. Some of the company's work is currently being carried out within biotechnology corporation Celgene.
“But To Unlock This Work’s True Value, We Had to Separate and Operate Independently as a Company Capable of Changing Quickly to Find the Right Direction” Hariri said.
Celularity CEO – Dr. Bob Hariri
Why Placental Stem Cells?
Many potential cell types can be used to develop regenerative medicines, including existing cells that can be modified to function like stem cells, as well as embryonic cells.
But Hariri and Diamandis chose placental cells. First, these do not raise the ethical concerns associated with embryonic cells. Nor do they need to match the recipient perfectly, enabling broader applications.
“From a customer's perspective, I realized that I really wanted genetically ideal stem cells that were also the easiest to obtain.” – Diamandis said.
The potential of placental stem cells to prevent aging
Hariri has worked with placental stem cells for the past 20 years. He calls them a “master boot disk.”
He hopes that one day, stem cells can be used to “reboot” people as they begin to age. As people age, so do the cells responsible for regenerating our bodies. For example, the likelihood of developing cancer increases as you grow older.
If humans could “reboot” at the cellular level, we could stay healthy longer.
“I believe the future of longevity will be as simple as going for a checkup every year or two, receiving a stem-cell injection over 1 hour, and then having those cells help regenerate your body and renew all its functions.” Hariri said.
Collected.
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