Manipal Health Systems (MHS), the healthcare arm of the Manipal Group, has set up a subsidiary, Stempeutics Research Pvt Ltd, for stem cell research. | |
| MHS will invest Rs 45 crore in this project. In the past one year, it has invested Rs 20 crore in the project and is expected to invest a further Rs 25 crore in the coming year. |
| |
| The cell therapies should be available "off the shelf" by 2008-09 across the country's tertiary hospitals subject to approval from the regulatory authorities, said Satish Totey, chief scientific officer, Stempeutics. |
| |
| Stempeutics will pursue therapies in the cells drawn from an adult's bone marrow. A team of 32, including researchers and clinicians, will be part of the firm. Of these, there are 11 PhDs, 7 of them from the US. |
| |
| The Manipal Group has also started a department of regenerative medicine, with an intake of 25 postgraduate students and 10 PhDs. Some of these students may be absorbed into Stempeutics, said Totey. |
| |
| The stem cell therapy, which costs $70,000 to $75,000 in the US, is available in India for just one-third of the price. This is expected to come down further over time, said R Basil, managing director and CEO, MHS. |
| |
| "This is because the drugs are expensive and the cost of imported reagents is high," Basil said. |
| |
|
| |
