Apollo Hospitals Group forays into stem cell research

Apollo Hospitals Educational and Research Centre (AHERF), under the aegis of Apollo Hospitals, has set up Cell and Molecular Biology Research Center (CMBRC), which will be involved in stem cell research and clinical trials, in its Jubilee Hills campus here.

The Centre plans to initially use bone marrow, placental and umbilical cord-derived stem cells, both for research and for clinical trials in certain key areas like Critical Limb Ischemia, Cerebral Palsy and Stroke.

It also intends to use stem cells in research and in the therapy of several diseases like Cardiovascular, Neurodegenerative disorders and diabetes, a press release here said. CMBRC is collaborating with StemCyte, USA, for the use of umbilical cord blood cells. The Center has all the facilities and equipment for mammalian cell culture, cryopreservation and equipment used in Cell and Molecular Biology Research.

Worldwide, there is an increasing interest in stem cells and their ability to improve diseased conditions in vivo (in animals and in initial human clinical trials).