A Japanese health ministry panel on Wednesday approved public health insurance coverage for a regenerative medicine product prepared from induced pluripotent stem cells used to treat Parkinson’s disease.
The full price for Amchepry, developed by Sumitomo Pharma Co, will be 55,306,737 yen ($351,000) per person. Treatments are expected to begin possibly this fall and will be the world’s first practical application of regenerative medicine using iPS cells.
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative condition caused by a degeneration and loss of dopamine-producing brain cells, which can lead to a decrease in motor function.
With Amchepry, human iPS cells are grown into “dopaminergic neural progenitor cells” and injected into the patient’s brain.
The treatment is intended for Parkinson’s patients who have not responded to conventional medications.
In March, the government conditionally approved the commercialization of Amchepry as well as ReHeart, another iPS-derived drug developed by Cuorips Inc to treat patients with severe heart failure stemming from ischemic cardiomyopathy.
The price of Reheart and whether it will be covered by health insurance is expected to be decided around this summer.
As both products have a limited number of clinical trial cases, ReHeart and Amchepry need to prove their efficacy within seven years through the treatment of patients to win full-fledged approval.
© KYODO
