RIKEN is pleased to announce the launch of a pilot study to
assess the safety and feasibility of the transplantation of autologous induced
pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cell
sheets in patients with exudative (wet-type) age-related macular degeneration.
This study, led by Masayo Takahashi M.D., Ph. D. of the
Laboratory for Retinal Regeneration, RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology,
and conducted in collaboration with the Institute for Biomedical Research and
Innovation with support from the Kobe City Medical Center General Hospital, has
been approved to proceed following review by the Ministry of Health, Labour and
Welfare and is scheduled to open patient recruitment on August 1, 2013.