HYDERABAD: The Centre has agreed to provide Rs. 22 crores for the establishment of a first-of-its-kind advanced clinical research facility on stem cell technology and regenerative medicine in the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) here.

The new facility will come up on five acres of land in Uppal in three years, according to CCMB officials. The Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) will lend its expertise in clinical research for the upcoming facility.

Clinical trials

Researchers from NIMS would conduct clinical trials on patients while CCMB scientists will take up stem cell technology development. Already, NIMS has carried out several phase-I clinical trials of drugs for major pharmaceutical companies and its expertise in the area will be useful for the new facility.

CCMB will pool scientists and researchers who will take up research on stem cells to find a cure for life-threatening and hereditary diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart ailments.

Helpful research

The facility will essentially help researchers understand the regenerative potential of stem cells that eventually help in curing various life-threatening diseases. In many diseases and sometimes due to ageing, functional tissue is lost.

For example, in a person who has had a heart attack, a part of the heart tissue dies. A part of the pancreas does not produce the required insulin in a diabetic.

"The facility will essentially try to explore the use of stem cells to regenerate the parts of the affected organ," a CCMB official said.

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