In medical field, stem cells are called the "universal cell", the "Adam" and "Eve" of somatic cells. Once the body needs a type of somatic cells, stem cells can divide and differentiate into mature ones. Stem cell research is the most dynamic, most influential and most promising life sciences after human genome project.
In the past, the major sources of hematopoietic stem cells are adult bone marrow and umbilical cord blood. Collection of adult bone marrow from healthy adults can cause pain to the donor, with very low matching rate of 1:100,000; collection of umbilical cord blood is convenient with relatively high matching rate. However, the quantity of cord blood is limited, so it can only meet the needs of kids weighting less than 30 kg, thus having very low chance of being used. Recently, as hematopoietic stem cells are found in neonatal placenta by scientists, industrialization of stem cells is put on agenda again.
Zhongchao Han, Chairman of National Center of Stem Cell Engineering Technology, and Professor of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, is one of the pioneers in stem cell research field in China. In order to realize industrialization of stem cell research as soon as possible, Professor Han founded Beijing Health & Biotech Group at the end of 2008, made great breakthrough in the extraction technology of placental stem cells, and built the world's first placenta-derived hematopoietic stem cell bank with current placenta stem cells storage capacity of 30000 units.
"Stem cell bank is the base of stem cell industry. Only if we had built the industrial base, could we achieve the application." Zhongchao Han said. At present, Beijing Health & Biotech Group has established a stem cell institute of international standards, a health, science and technology promoting company, and several stem cell factories located in Beijing, Guangdong, Shandong, Jiangxi responsible for the production of stem cells. Zhongchao Han said, "Cell therapy using stem cells and their differentiated cells is a leading research direction of stem cell clinical application." After building the stem cell banks, Professor Han is dedicated to the industrialization of stem cell application. Last year he applied for a large project of new drug development, and is applying for clinical use now.
It's learned that stem cells can treat more than 400 kinds of diseases, and Health & Biotech Group has developed stem cell therapies for dozens of diseases for which Professor Han made a special reports at French Academy of Sciences last year. However, due to the existing various obstacles in applying for the marketing of stem cells drugs, Health & Biotech Group has to make other preparations, and stem cell anti-aging cosmetics is one of the pursuing directions.
"User experiences of stem cell cosmetics prove very good. We hope to get the approval this year, and put it into market soon," Zhongchao Han said, "at present some beauty institutions and manufacturers have sent us cooperation intentions. Besides, national major new drug discovery project and the 12th five-year plan of biological medicine have paid great attention to cell regenerative medicine. I believe stem cell industrialization has reached the key period. As a leading stem cell corporation in China and even the whole world, Health & Biotech Group will speed up developing pace and become an internationally leading stem cell research and manufacturing corporation." Professor Zhongchao Han is quite confident for the future development of his company.