The applications for stem cell therapy are rapidly growing in modern medicine. Cells from family members are preferred for the treatment of blood cancer, but for many experimental treatments such as in the field of regenerative medicine, your own cells are deemed best. Stem cells can also be used for immunosuppression in e.g. autoimmune diseases and these cells can probably come from any donor, as long as the most potent cells are selected.

NextCell Pharma AB has two distinct business areas;

· Cellaviva™, stem cell banking for saving of stem cells both for the baby and their family and
· ProTrans™, a stem cell drug candidate developed for treatment of autoimmune disease, the first study being planned for diabetes type 1.

"Underbara Barn is an important opportunity for us to meet and inform (future) parents about family saving of stem cells. Many prospective parents have not been in contact with our service previously and are interested in both stem cell saving and scientific research on future treatments. We have an important role in informing about family saving of stem cells and growing the level of awareness as it is still a relatively new service in Sweden", says Lotten Löfberg, Marketing Director Cellaviva.

The umbilical cord contains different types of stem cells including blood stem cells and mesenchymal stem cells. The development of new technologies is constantly evolving. developments are ongoing to allow expansions of even small amounts of umbilical cord blood to treat an adult patient's blood disease using their own stem cells. In the umbilical cord tissue there is another type of stem cell which is used for the development of regenerative and immunosuppressive therapies. Cellaviva's family saving offering captures both types of stem cells, as we collect both the blood that resides in the cord and cut off a piece of the umbilical cord. Both the blood and cord are then analysed, processed and safely stored.

"We believe the interest in Cellaviva increases as scientific articles report on autologous progress, cells from a family member (related allogeneic) and unrelated cells (unrelated allogeneic)," says Mathias Svahn, CEO of NextCell Pharma. One example is the experimental treatment of CP injuries, see the recently published reference: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/28937975/

ProTrans ™ is a stem cell product produced using NextCell Pharma's proprietary and proprietary selection algorithm for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. A first clinical trial is scheduled for diabetes type 1 patients. The two businesses have great synergies as they use the same type of stem cell source and technologies.