StemLab is a Korean biotech company that is developing therapeutic solutions to treat diseases and injuries that have no alternative cures. In particular, it develops cells that can regenerate the central nervous system tissues based on its cell reprogramming technology that transforms somatic cells into stem cells. Stemlab’s cell reprogramming technology takes fully differentiated cells and reprograms them into neural stem cells, allowing them to obtain the stem cells necessary to create stem cell therapies. It thus avoids the ethical issues concernng embryonic stem cell research. Also, its reprogrammed neural stem cells have expansion capability comparable to neural stem cells derived from pluripotent stem cells. And since StemLab obtains somatic cells through urine, harvesting is much less invasive than using cells obtained using other invasive means. StemLab's technology is backed up with 18 patents for original technology related to stem cell treatments and has three patents for application technology, with another five pending. Its initial clinical programs will involve patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease).
