The first centre in Ireland licensed to manufacture stem cells for human use opens in Galway today.

The Centre for Cell Manufacturing Ireland (CCMI) - a custom built facility - is located at NUI Galway and according to the university, it will help position Ireland ‘as a global player in the regenerative medicine field'.

Stem cells are basic cells that can multiply and generate into specialised cells, tissues and even organs. This offers researchers great potential in seeking treatments for a wide range of illnesses.

Unfortunately, many diseases today either have inadequate or ineffective treatments. Since 2004, researchers at the Regenerative Medicine Institute (REMEDI) in NUI Galway have been working on developing new therapies for various conditions.

In order to develop a new therapy for humans, the treatment must first undergo rigorous clinical trials. In response to this, REMEDI developed the CCMI in order to expand stem cells for use in human clinical trials.

As the centre has now been successfully accredited, it is now in a position to start supplying stems cells for this very purpose.

Details of the first clinical trial to use CCMI-manufactured stem cells have already been announced. The trial involves assessing the safety of using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which are isolated from bone marrow, for the treatment of critical limb ischemia. This is a common complication associated with diabetes that can often result in the amputation of a limb.

According to NUI Galway, ‘MSCs must be grown in the laboratory to generate sufficient quantities following their isolation from the bone marrow of adult donors'.

Commenting on the centre's opening, its director, Prof Tim O'Brien said that having it ‘positions Ireland well to develop new therapies for a broad array of clinical problems which do not have effective treatments today'.