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: Medical treatments based on stem cells might still take some time to take off in India, but excitement is building up among the healthcare providers to tap this fast emerging market. The allurement is hard to resist as the global stem cell therapy market is expected to touch $20 billion by 2010 and chances of India emerging as a hub for the treatment of deadly diseases are fairly strong. Another $10-12 billion worth of funds are being channelled into stem cell research by the governments of USA, UK, Sweden, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Korea, Japan and Germany. It’s obviously a lucrative opportunity for the Indian companies and research institutes.

No wonder, stem cells are being touted as the next big thing that has happened to India. And, as they hold the promise to usher in the next great leap in medicine, Indian companies are in an equally buoyant mood.

Leading the charge is Reliance Life Sciences, which recently rolled out the first commercial stem cell treatment in ophthalmology. After successful clinical trials, the company has introduced stem cell-based treatment to restore or improve vision in people with damaged cornea. This is just the beginning. Starting with India, there are plans to subsequently launch stem cell therapies in the US and European markets.

With an investment of Rs 1,000 crore, Reliance Life Sciences is gearing up to introduce stem cell therapies for the treatment of heart disease, skin disease and other metabolic disorders. Successful clinical trials for the treatment of cardiac disease have already been completed.

Reliance Life Sciences provides stem cell-enriched cord blood repository services as well as stem cell-enriched cord blood for transplantation to address blood-related haematological disorders. The repository runs two programmes for collection of cord blood—Relicord-S and Relicord-A. Relicord-S is a sibling donor programme and Relicord-A is meant for patients requiring transplants with grafts from the repository.

Clearly, with the US, Europe and Asian countries being the prime markets, Indian companies are focused on developing stem cell therapies to treat a host of disorders—heart ailments, diabetes, spinal injuries, various forms of cancer, Parkinson’s disease, arthritis, stroke, etc. Accordingly, American blood bank Histostem Inc has tied up with Apollo Group of hospitals to offer stem cell treatment protocols and develop new treatment protocols with relevant regulatory approval, across India.