Scéil to launch world's first iPS stem cell back-up service in the UAE

For a one-off $60,000 investment, individuals in the GCC can now benefit from a Nobel Prize-winning procedure to freeze their adult stem cells and harness the future potential of regenerative medicine

Dubai, UAE 09 October, 2013 – Scéil is launching a service, the first of its kind, that allows individuals to benefit from 2012 Nobel Prize-winning medical research to store a backup of their adult selves – literally freezing their healthy cells in time. Available in the UAE from October 2013, the country is one of several across the globe to be selected by Scéil to offer the service. Other locations to offer the service are Switzerland, Singapore and the US.

Scéil's world-leading experts use cutting-edge techniques to take cells from a small sample of an individual's skin and “reboot” them at the "Day Zero state". These skin cells are processed into stem cells (iPS) that are stored long-term for potential future uses, which could repair damaged organs, rebuild tissue or fight disease, as personalised genetic-based medicine continues to develop.  

Lebanese born André Choulika, CEO of Scéil, said: “Scéil offers people the best possible chance in the future. People should be able to ‘live young', no matter how old they grow. Scéil gives them the opportunity to take advantage of the wave of regenerative medicine. We're offering the potential for people to use their cells for their cure as soon as regenerative medicine treatments become available.”

iPS (induced pluripotent stem cells) are capable of developing into any cell type. They can be derived from adult cells at any time of life, but given the fast rate at which cell DNA degenerates (the human body accumulates about 1.8 million DNA mutations per second), Scéil's experts recommend taking this step sooner rather than later to ensure the healthiest possible cells are stored.

With the Scéil service, the iPS cells are stored at -180°C for as long as needed for potential future use as soon as regenerative medicine treatments become available. It is the first time ever that such a service has been made available to individuals commercially.

Regenerative medicine is the process of replacing or regenerating human cells, tissues and organs to restore or establish normal function or, by stimulating the body's own repair mechanisms, to heal previously irreparable tissues or organs.

The service is very simple and painless for the individual. A skin tissue sample is taken under local anaesthetic and by arrangement at your convenience. The skin cells are then “rebooted” into iPS cells by Scéil's world-leading biotechnology teams; and finally they are stored by Scéil for a lifetime in cutting-edge laboratory conditions until they are needed for future medical applications as soon as they become available.

You can read more about Scéil, the benefits of stem cell banking, and the leading role its parent company Cellectis plays in genetic research at www.sceil.com