Japan Startup Tests Catheter Injection of iPS Heart Muscle Cells

Tokyo, June 13 (Jiji Press)–Japanese startup Heartseed Inc. has said it conducted a clinical trial to inject via catheter small masses of heart muscle cells produced from induced pluripotent stem, or iPS, cells into patients with severe heart failure. The Tokyo-based company, founded by CEO Keiichi Fukuda, professor emeritus of Keio University, hopes to develop a minimally invasive treatment method that does not require surgery. The trial was conducted on a patient in his 70s with dilated cardiomyopathy at Shinshu University Hospital in late March, according to an announcement Friday. His condition was generally favorable after the injection. He has already been discharged from the hospital. In the trial, Heartseed plans to test the procedure on a total of 14 participants by 2029 to verify the safety and effects on heart function. The company had developed a treatment involving the surgical transplantation of heart muscle cell masses, called spheroids. In a clinical trial involving 10 patients with severe heart failure, improvements in cardiac function and symptoms were confirmed. As no major safety problems have been found with this method, Heartseed aims to apply for pharmaceutical approval to make and sell such spheroids and a device used in the procedure within this year. The catheter-based injection is regarded as a next-generation treatment far less invasive than the surgical transplantation. “The biggest advantage of catheters is that they reduce the burden on patients,” Fukuda said. “We’ll consider the best way to use them.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]