Japan's health ministry panel is reviewing two regenerative cell therapies for Parkinson's disease and heart failure, testing the country's push to build a domestic cell-based treatment industry. Japan's cell culture market is projected to reach USD 2.34 billion by 2031, driven by government support and favorable regulatory pathways. Australian firm Cartherics secured a Japanese patent for its iPSC-based immune cell therapies.
iPSC-derived NK cell therapies are advancing rapidly with 12+ companies developing 15+ pipeline drugs. Japan's PMDA approved an iPS cell-derived NK cell therapy for mediastinal germ cell tumors in December 2025. Key clinical milestones include Century Therapeutics' CNTY-101 continuing in a Phase I/II trial.
The iPSC-derived NK cells pipeline includes 12+ active players and 15+ drugs in development. FT522 is in Phase I, while CNTY-101 and NCR300 are among other programs in the clinic.
