CCMB and Eyestem to conduct an advance research on Covid-19

Hyderabad: The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad, on Monday, announced its collaboration with Eyestem Research Private Limited, a cell therapy start-up incubated at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms, Bengaluru, to take up research on Covid-19.

To understand molecular and pathological characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 and to establish a rational basis for testing potential drugs, the CCMB will use Eyestem’s human lung epithelial cell culture system provided as part of its Anti-Covid Screening (ACS) platform.

Director, CCMB, Dr. Rakesh Mishra said, “Culturing the virus outside the human host is a technological challenge that needs to be overcome. Eyestem’s cell culture system expresses the ACE2 receptor and other genes that are key determinants of viral entry and replication. We hope that employing this system will allow the CCMB team, led by Dr. Krishnan Harshan, to grow the virus predictably and thereby open up the potential for drug screening and vaccine development strategies.”

CEO, Eyestem, Dr. Jogin Desai, expressed hope that the CCMB will be able to leverage its platform and advance Covid research that will help the country. “It’s an honour to enter into research collaboration with the CCMB. The ACS platform has been developed by

Dr. Rajarshi Pal and his team and is a testament to our depth and expertise in cell therapy and disease modeling,” he said.

“Eyestem Research is working to democratise access to cell therapy as well as disease modelling platforms and bring their benefit to a large section of the humanity,” Dr Desai added.