Prof Colin P McGuckin

people in India have stored their stem cells in public banks or private stem cell banks. This is the reason why India is being left behind. I came to India to highlight this andhelp make people aware of what they could be achieving with advancement in stem cell research and therapy here.

MM: What is the government’s role in stem-cell therapy?
The Indian government is willing to help develop a framework for stem cells. However, the work of any government is complex and we cannot expect these things to happen overnight. With regard to this, I believe that we have to turn to private companies to help us with stem cell banking. This would allow us to plan for the future health of our children. We have to get new therapies right and must work with the government to make sure that no patient is treated in the wrong way, or with a treatment that is not safe. This is important.

MM: Tell us about the world’s first ‘artificial’ liver and your recent creation of the world’s first artificial pancreas.
When we first created liver we did not really believe it. So we did it again and repeated the process several times. Further, we worked with liver experts to make sure we were right. When you are pioneering something, it is good to question yourself and make sure that you are going in the correct direction. With the pancreas-like cells we have created, we can only move forward if we work with diabetes doctors, and have in fact already initiated the process. I am very excited for the future of regenerative medicine because of what we have created.

MM: How would stem cell research benefit the drug discovery process?
While we slowly and carefully move towards patients, I believe that we can use the laboratory-based tissues we have made, like liver, to test drugs on. This way, we can reduce animal testing, make better drugs for humanity and contribute to the health of our families. I am sure this can be extremely beneficial to the pharma industry.

MM: What are the latest innovations in stem cell therapy?
Advances in treating the person with his own stem cells have been a major leap forward. Trials for Type 1 diabetes and some metabolic diseases have shown that this is a very exciting possibility for the future.
MM: What are the challenges involved here and what can be done to encourage researchers to commercialise their ideas?
Unfortunately, what we do is very expensive. There is no way that there would be a compromise in costs, as this might lead to a compromise in quality. Also, one has to be extra careful while working on human beings. You cannot cut corners and take risks. This increases costs, which is the biggest challenge for this industry. 
For commercialisation of ideas regarding stem cell research, one needs to collaborate with the government.

MM: What are the initiatives taken by Cryo-Save India towards stem cell therapy is progress in the country?
Cryo-Save is one of the biggest stem cell banks in the world, and in the British stock market. Having stored more than 1,00,000 children’s cord blood, it has much experience in helping protect stem cells for later therapy. Cryo-Save India has the necessary experience to store stem cells and has also invested in a GMP centre. Although the Indian government does not require this yet, other governments do, and we felt it was important not to cut corners, but to do it correctly and well.

MM: What are your future plans for India?
I have already worked closely with