PharmaCyte Biotech Inc (PMCB)

[frosr6]

History, challenges and perspectives of cell microencapsulation

Explains pmcb’s failure.


Another challenge is the scaling-up of the manufactur- ing process while maintaining a controlled environment, operational discipline and rigorous quality controls. This step will be essential for allowing cell microencapsulation technology to enter human clinical trials and thereby become a real clinical therapeutic strategy. Another major area of study is the retrievability associated with the microcapsules and the banking and culture of suitable cell
sources. The importance of protocol design in yielding donor cells of adequate quantity and quality is paramount for the success of this technology.
The next step will be likely to involve the development of ‘super-specialized’ microcapsules that embody multiple micro-compartments, each one dynamically interacting with the other, containing cells or pharmacological agents that interact favorably with the ‘primary’ cellular product. Such capsules will not be more complex, chemi- cally or biologically, but will be based on simple engineered materials, assembled in the correct manner. The final aim is to continuously improve cell life expectancy and func- tional performance, and eventually to establish a self- perpetuating cell regeneration pattern, to address the treatment of high social impact diseases, such as diabetes, Parkinson’s disease or Alzheimer ’s disease.

http://www.rug.nl/research/pathology/medbiol/pdf/trendsbiotechnology2004orive.pdf