-- Panasonic (TYO:6752) aims to bring the cost of producing induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells below 1 million yen per patient using an automated culturing system it has developed, Nikkei Asia reported Tuesday, citing company official Yoshihiro Owaki.
The compact device, measuring 75 cm high, 70 cm wide, and 45 cm long, was unveiled at Osaka's CiRA Foundation research center on Monday, the publication said.
Currently, producing iPS cells costs approximately 50 million yen per patient, but Panasonic aims to bring that figure below 1 million yen, with field tests targeted for completion by March 2027 and commercialization planned for fiscal 2028, the news daily said.
Owaki added that the company sees iPS cell technology as a future growth area and intends to develop fully automated culture systems for other therapeutic cells, including immune cells, the report said.
Stem cells have the ability to grow into various tissues for medical use, with iPS cells specifically created by introducing genes into harvested adult cells to revert them to an embryonic-like state, it added.
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