Vision Care Inc.

Total solutions for every patient

COMPANY OVERVIEW

Planning and realization of the Kobe Eye Center concept, and Research & Development promotion projects for practical application of regenerative medicine and gene therapy, as well as commercialization of research technologies 


Vision Care Group was established by the team that succeeded in the world's first clinical application of iPS cells under the Kobe Eye Center concept, which integrates research, clinical practice, and patient care, not only to develop treatments for retinal diseases but also to solve all problems faced by visually impaired people.VC Gene Therapy Inc. for practical use of gene therapy, and VC Cell Therapy Inc. for practical use of cell therapy, are subsidiaries for different purposes, and joint research is being conducted with Kobe City Eye Hospital. 

Aiming for "every possible solution for every patient", we are working to nurture seeds and support commercialization, including collaboration with other companies, in areas ranging from regenerative medicine and gene therapy to employment support for low-vision people.


Kobe Eye Cetnter

SERVICE / PR

Consulting in the fields of ophthalmology and regenerative medicine

Research and development of technologies related to regenerative medicine and gene therapy

Manufacture, sale, import and export of goods related to regenerative medicine, gene therapy, etc.

Acquisition, possession, licensing, transfer and management of industrial property rights, copyrights and other intellectual property

Support for commercialization of low vision care

OUR PROBLEM

Retina is a thin film, at the posterior of the eye cup, responsible for light sensing

Retina consists of 6 types of cells, of which 2 are lost in degeneration retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and/or photoreceptor cells



More than 200 million people worldwide suffer from various retinal degeneration diseases One of the leading causes of blindness are retinitis pigmentosa (RP) or age-related macular degeneration (AMD)

PRODUCT

Regenerative Cell ­Therapy to replace damaged cells

Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE)

RPE “strips” are prepared from HLA-KO 

   hypo-immunogenic iPS cells

Strip formulation is advantageous for targeted delivery


RPE applied to ~10 patients to date with excellent 

 safety profile

Transplantation halts vision impairment

Photoreceptor organoid

Photoreceptors prepared as “flat organoid sheet” 

 from iPS cells as large as ~1cm or 10mm circle 

・Organoid sheets are polarized tissues ready for

  transplantation 

Readily integrated into the host retina

Form functional synapses with host bipolar cells

Blind mice become capable to recognize visual stimuli


This study is based on the CiRA Foundation's iPS cell stock

Transplanted genome edited (Bhlhb4-/-) mouse retinal organoids developed a layer of photoreceptor cells (Nrl-GFP) that contact host bipolar cells (PKCα)and has outer segment structures (arrows) after transplantation in the end stage retinal degeneration mouse (rd1)

These photoreceptors are light responsive and transmit signals to host retinal ganglion cells

Robotics and AI-enabled cell culture research and manufacturing

Our team has worked with Robotic Biology Institute, Inc., developer of the general-purpose humanoid robot Maholo, and Epistra Corporation, developer of AI and other information technologies, to establish next-generation biological experiments using robots and AI. Maholo is a robot that uses two arms to perform experiments using the same tools and instruments as humans. By having Maholo copy the "master's hands" and having AI take charge of the "master's head," we developed technologies that contribute to the acceleration of basic research fields by having robots and AI inherit the "master's skills" [*]

 

References: [*] Ochiai and Motozawa et al., SLAS Tech (2020, in press)

Gene Therapy to prevent damage

Targeting Rhodopsin dominant mutations

Non-homologous end joining approach to, in a single step, silence a mutated copy and insert WT

COMPANY PROFILE

 VCGT Inc.

 VCCT Inc.

MANAGEMENT

Vision Care Inc.

PresidentMasayo Takahashi

DirectorTakuma Fukuda

DirectorKeita Okuda

Outside DirectorKazuhiko Toyama

Executive AdvisorKanoko Oishi

Executive AdvisorYasunori Kaneko 

VCGT Inc.

PresidentMasayo Takahashi

Director:Tetsuo Ito

DirectorTakuma Fukuda

VCCT Inc.

PresidentMasayo Takahashi

Director:Seiji Hori

Director:Tomoki Otani