Parcell Laboratories partners with UPMC to study effective stem cell-based wrinkle treatments

The novel treatment would use ‘off-the-shelf’ allogeneic adult stem cells, rather than requiring the extraction of a patient’s own stem cells that are then processed and reimplanted in a separate procedure. The two organizations are collaborating on an ongoing study comparing the ELA cell platform technology with adipose-derived stem cells typically extracted from a patient’s own fatty deposits.

The benefits of stem cell therapies on wrinkle reduction are becoming increasingly apparent. However, current stem cell treatments frequently require the patient to undergo two procedures — one to extract their own cells from their body for isolation, and the other to reimplant them at the treatment site.

Parcell Laboratories’ ELA cells provide a means of simplifying any stem cell-based medical procedures aimed at reducing wrinkles by enabling the surgeon to implant stem cells without requiring an initial extraction procedure, thereby offering a one-step, off-the-shelf treatment option for patients.

Parcell Laboratories chief scientific officer Dr Colin White noted ELA cells have the potential to change how we think of dermal stem cell therapies.

"They can be isolated in larger quantities than usually associated with other adult stem cells, thus requiring less downstream processing. In addition, a side-by-side comparison of the ELA cell with another type of adult stem cell revealed a superior ability of the ELA cell to differentiate into adipose tissue. Our collaboration with the UPMC will explore whether these differentiators would make the ELA cell an ideal alternative to today’s most common treatments for wrinkle reduction," Dr White added.