
Our science is based on over 20 years of research and 10 years of specific study into our cell lines and their derived factors.
Mesenchymal Stem Cells
Extracellular vesicles
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Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are present in bone marrow and can regenerate bone and cartilage. MSCs play an important role in maintaining a healthy skeleton and repairing fractures. MSCs are also able to interact with and suppress the immune system. These properties make MSCs attractive cellular therapies to treat diseases caused by tissue loss and damaging inflammation, such as arthritis. Indeed, MSCs are one of the most clinically studied cell therapy platforms worldwide.
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One of the main challenges in bringing MSC therapies to the clinic is that, remarkably, MSCs cannot be identified or isolated as a pure cell population. MSCs, whether used in the laboratory or in clinical trials, are isolated as a mixture of different “stromal” cell types; cells that resemble MSCs but do not share all of their biological characteristics. We call this cell mixture “mesenchymal stromal cells” as we believe this term more accurately reflects the biological nature of the cells. Only a small fraction will be stem cells.
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In 2010, we started a programme of work to try to identify the true mesenchymal stem cell. We extracted the mixture of stromal cells from human bone marrow and we made them live forever by introducing a new gene, telomerase. We then took single cells from this immortalised mixed cell population and grew them in isolation as clonal cell lines. This meant that we could analyse the properties of the MSC clones over many months. After several years, many experiments and abundant characterisation datasets published in two key articles (in 2015 and 2022), we identified one particular MSC clone that had all the characteristics of a mesenchymal stem cell.
We call it FT-01.
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Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nano-sized, membrane-bound particles containing biological material, including nucleic acids and proteins, that are released by producer cells to deliver their bioactive cargoes to target cells. EVs often reflect the biological function of the EV-producer cells, therefore EVs represent a new acellular therapeutic paradigm, uncomplicated by the problems associated with cellular therapies, such as storage, delivery and costs.
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To deliver EV therapies, the EVs need to be isolated from a purified population of the right cell types available in constant and consistent supply using scalable processes.
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We have demonstrated over more than a decade of research that FT-01 are the right cell types. They are immortalised and so are available as a constant and consistent supply suitable for scaled-up production. We have demonstrated that FT-01 can produce an endless quantity of consistent EVs that share the regenerative and anti-inflammatory properties of MSCs.
Key Publications
Mesenchymal stem cells from biology to therapy
Nomenclature and heterogeneity: consequences for the use of mesenchymal stem cells in regenerative medicine
Multiplicity of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells: Finding the Right Route to Therapy
CD317-Positive Immune Stromal Cells in Human “Mesenchymal Stem Cell” Populations
Multiparameter Analysis of Human Bone Marrow Stromal Cells Identifies Distinct Immunomodulatory and Differentiation-Competent Subtypes