Progress Or Hype? Looking At A Decade Of Cell Therapy In Japan

Regulatory Approach Evolving After Challenges

After 10 years of promised investment following its Nobel Prize for iPS cell research, Japan is cautiously narrowing regulations around the conditional approval of cell therapies and cutting reimbursement prices. How has the sector panned out over the last decade?

After ten years of promising investment for cell therapy, Japan has cautiously reviewing its policies.
After a decade of supportive regulations for cell therapies, Japan is reviewing some policies • Source: Shutterstock

Some 10 years since Japan introduced policies, regulations and review pathways to encourage the development and commercialization of cell therapy products, the country has recently modified some regulations in the field to take account of an admitted “lack of predictability” for some products.

The country jumped enthusiastically into the area following Professor Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University's 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or...

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