J-TEC is a bio-venture enterprise founded on the premise that J-TEC will "develop a basic tissue regeneration medical treatment based on the science of tissue engineering, which will bring a qualitative change in medical treatment practices, and thus develop into a business that will transform 21st century medical treatment itself".
The 3 business groups being developed by J-TEC include our "Regenerative Medicine Business", "Contract Development and Manufacturing Business" and "R&D Support Business".
Making regenerative medicine a reality
It would be wonderful to be able to regenerate lost tissues or organs. A new branch of medicine that aims to achieve just that is now beginning to take shape: Regenerative Medicine. One example of a method used in this new field, is one which uses our own cells. Growing a large volume of the patient's own cells outside the body for use in treatment requires only a small amount of tissue, meaning there is minimal damage to the area of the body from which it is taken. As the cells would be the patient's own, they would not cause an immune rejection reaction. Of course there would be no need to wait for a suitable donor to come forward. In this way, regenerative medicine holds the potential to solve some of the problems currently associated with transplant medicine. It uses highly developed techniques of tissue engineering to create a part of our own body from our own cells. In 1993, Joseph Vacanti and Robert Langer proposed the then-novel concept of the creation of artificial organs or tissues through the appropriate combination of cells, materials, and physiologically active substances. The transplantation of cultured cells requires an appropriate material that is easily accepted by the body. In addition, a number of different physiologically active substances are necessary in order to transplant cells in a healthier state. Tissue engineering is a new means toward making regenerative medicine a reality.