A domestic knowledge-based company active in the field of stem cells is able to process all types of immune and blood cells, which assists in the early detection of drug resistance in cancer patients.
Kian Immune Cell Company is a pioneer in the production of advanced cellular products that process immune, hematopoietic and genetically modified cells, according to the company’s CEO.
“Haploidentical Natural Killer [NK] cells and allogeneic NK cells produced with off-the-shelf method for cancer immunotherapy and tumor-specific anticancer drug sensitivity test kits for personalized medicine are among the most important products of this company,” Marzieh Ebrahimi was also quoted as saying by the news portal of the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology.
Ebrahimi added that with the establishment of the allogeneic NK cell bank, the company can also become active in the field of cell therapy for brain tumors, for which two Phase 1 clinical trials have been conducted.
“The company also has the capability to process all types of immune cells and blood cells for treatment, make gene changes in blood cells for therapeutic purposes and provide consulting services,” she added.
The CEO of the knowledge-based company stated that 3D culture models and cell lethality testing are among the important services provided by the company.
She added that if a license is obtained from Iran’s Food and Drug Administration, the company will be able to meet the needs of 3-5% of cancer patients.
Ebrahimi noted that in addition to having an agreement in principle with the Food and Drug Administration, the company is the first to have acquired the ISO13485:2016 international medical equipment standard certificate and the ISO9001:2015 quality management system for the isolation of natural killer cells from peripheral blood for the purpose of cancer treatment in Iran.
Plasma Torch Helps Dispose of Hazardous Waste
A domestic knowledge-based company has produced a plasma torch that can safely pyrolyze medical waste.
Plasma is divided into cold and warm plasma that can be used in medical fields, according to the CEO of Rayka Gostar Plasma Company.
“The company is not currently active in the medical field, but the domestic plasma torch is mainly used in industrial fields, or for waste disposal,” Maryam Salehi was also quoted as saying by the news portal of the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology.
The torch generates hot plasma at atmospheric pressure, which is able to convert most of the existing gases into plasma at a temperature of between 3,000-15,000 degrees Celsius. Almost no other technology can produce this temperature at atmospheric pressure.
The torch can be used for the disposal of special wastes, coating surfaces and mineral processing. In general, it can be used in any industry that requires very high temperatures.
The CEO stated that the plasma torch is the first product developed by the company.
“We initially produced a device for plasma gasification for the disposal of hazardous or hospital wastes. Then we expanded the use of this technology for other applications,” she added.
Salehi considered hospitals and industries producing hazardous waste as the main customers of this product.
The domestic plasma torch has a lower price compared with foreign counterparts of similar quality and can be customized based on the customer’s needs.
“In addition to the personnel working in the company, we have created indirect employment, especially in the fields of mining and mineral processing. We have prevented the sale of raw material and helped process it domestically,” she said.
“However, the product was not welcomed in the country and executive organizations, municipalities, hospitals and the government did not support it as much as we expected. But with the support of the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology, we managed to export our product.”
The company has so far exported the plasma torch to India and the Philippines.
Device for Detecting Metabolic Diseases in Babies
A domestic knowledge-based company has produced a device that detects metabolic diseases in newborns through a blood test at the time of birth.
Mobtakeran Agah Hadaf Company’s development of the device using new technologies helps stop certain diseases in the early stages, the news portal of Vice Presidency for Science and Technology reported.
Metabolic disorders are hereditary biochemical diseases in which the metabolic pathways of various substances in the body are disrupted, mainly due to the dysfunction of an enzyme or its cofactor, a receptor, substance transporter, membrane, or structural component.
Inherited metabolic disorders fall into different categories, depending on the specific substance involved and whether it builds up in harmful amounts (because it’s toxic and can't be broken down), it's too low or it's missing.
Some metabolic disorders can be diagnosed by routine screening tests done at birth while others are identified only after a child or adult shows symptoms.
These diseases are mostly inherited in an autosomal recessive manner, which means a family marriage, or a history of related death, or a similar disease in the family. Other types of inheritance, especially through mitochondrial genes, are also seen among patients sufferng from these diseases.
Congenital metabolic disorders can have irreparable impacts on people's quality of life and sometimes lead to irreparable damage such as mental and physical retardation, and in some cases cause the death of babies.
Diagnosing these diseases at birth and then taking simple measures such as adjusting the diet can eliminate the effects resulting from these diseases in most cases and moderate the huge costs imposed on the patient and the society.
Accordingly, fast and reliable tests are needed to ensure timely and error-free diagnosis of these diseases, especially by the time of birth.
Also, these tests should be able to simultaneously track all metabolic diseases in one analysis, so that immediately after the diagnosis of the metabolic disease, preventive measures can be taken to control it from the birth of the baby.
The domestic device for this issue has all the essential features and can track all the metabolic diseases in one test.
Mainly designed for medical centers and hospitals, the domestic device can prevent a significant currency outflow needed to import foreign counterparts.
