The following is an excerpt from Dr. Riordan’s Amazon #1 bestselling book, Stem Cell Therapy – A Rising Tide: How Stem Cells Are Disrupting Medicine and Transforming Lives
Our laboratory, Medistem Panama, Inc., is the only lab in the Western Hemisphere fully licensed by the government to isolate, manufacture, store, and use for treatment bone marrow, fat, and umbilical cord stem cells. We are licensed by the Panama Ministry of Health. Our 8,000 square foot laboratory utilizes state-of-the-art ISO-certified equipment and follows current Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), meeting the standards of the best laboratories in the United States.
Over the years of treating patients with chronic diseases, we noticed that certain patients experienced benefits above and beyond those of other patients. Miraculous recoveries were occurring on a regular basis. Other patients were improving after treatment, but the recovery of some patients astonished us. By this time, we had treated enough patients that we could take a good look at the activity of our cells to determine whether some cells were performing better than others.
We retrospectively analyzed cells used in highly successful cases, which we discovered were almost entirely limited to six particular cell lines. We then compared those cells to six cell lines of moderately successful cases and six fibroblast cell lines, which have no activity at all. We then screened those cells, using high throughput screening, for the secretion of over 1,100 molecules.
What emerged was a molecular signature that was significantly different in the cells from the six lines given to highly successful cases compared with the other two groups. I call these highly effective cells Riordan “Golden Cells™”.
This screening process took two and a half years because we first grew the cells in two dimensions, or on flat surfaces with the cells multiplying side by side. While this is the industry standard, it’s a space- and medium-dependent process that we have been working to improve. The cells are anchorage dependent, so they require a huge surface area to grow. We have since grown the cells in bioreactors that allow the cells to multiply in three dimensions, a cutting-edge technology that allows us to grow more cells in less medium, with just the right density. We went through well over one year of screening to ensure that the Riordan Golden Cell™ molecular signature is preserved in cells grown in three dimensions. It is preserved. In fact, it’s even pronounced.
This is the first time in history that anyone has been able to retrospectively analyze which MSCs have more benefit. I like to say that an MSC is not an MSC. They are not all created equal. If you are picking a basketball team, would you want me on your team or LeBron James, possibly the best basketball player of all time? We are both humans, but our abilities on the court are not equal. It’s the same with MSCs. Some perform better than others. That’s why we’ve been working to select the best cells for use in patients with chronic disease. Now we can retrospectively analyze existing data of outcomes. We are the only stem cell company with the data to do that.
This new technology allows for us to continue to grow stem cells more efficiently, a crucial factor for the eventual large-scale use of MSCs for patients. With dosage costs of thousands of dollars, MSCs are not yet able to serve the large number of patients who need such treatment. We are the first stem cell manufacturer to grow these cells in three dimensions and are making major strides toward eventually reaching a wider population.
Now that our laboratory has established what makes an MSC a Riordan Golden Cell™, we test the cells we receive to ensure that we only use those cells with the best molecular signature. Out of 100 umbilical cords that we receive, we now only use cells from fewer than ten.
For more information visit: www.cellmedicine.com