OSAKA - A woman treated for severe heart failure with a cardiac muscle sheet derived from induced pluripotent stem cells is recovering well and scheduled to leave hospital this week, her doctors said Wednesday.
The patient, a woman in her 50s from Kanagawa Prefecture, was the first to receive the product, called RiHeart. She attended a press conference at Osaka Keisatsu Hospital, where she underwent the surgery on Sept. 29.
"About a week after surgery, I could take deeper breaths. I could feel the difference," she said. "I want to walk my dog, go for a good run and enjoy my hobbies."
The woman suffered a heart attack in 2022, and her heart function continued to decline despite catheter treatment and medication.
The operation lasted about 50 minutes and was performed by Yoshiki Sawa, president of the hospital and professor emeritus at the University of Osaka.
"There is significance in that the operation was performed at a midsize private hospital," Sawa said. "I hope more patients will be able to receive this new treatment."
RiHeart was developed by Cuorips Inc., a startup originating from the university, to treat patients with severe heart failure stemming from ischemic cardiomyopathy, a condition in which blocked blood vessels make it difficult for blood to reach the heart.
The treatment involves culturing cardiac muscle cells derived from donor iPS cells onto a sheet and attaching it to the heart surface. It is expected to promote new blood vessel formation and help restore cardiac function.
The commercialization of RiHeart was conditionally approved in March, and public health insurance coverage took effect in September.
The company aims to treat 75 patients and demonstrate the product's efficacy by 2033.
iPS cells possess the ability to develop into almost any human cell type and multiply virtually indefinitely, according to Kyoto University's Center for iPS Cell Research and Application.
