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.
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
MANAGEMENT
Vision Care Inc.
President：Masayo Takahashi
Director：Takuma Fukuda
Director：Keita Okuda
Outside Director：Kazuhiko Toyama
Executive Advisor：Kanoko Oishi
Executive Advisor：Yasunori Kaneko
VCGT Inc.
President：Masayo Takahashi
Director：Tetsuo Ito
Director：Takuma Fukuda
VCCT Inc.
President：Masayo Takahashi
Director：Seiji Hori
Director：Tomoki Otani