Acorn Biolabs, a personalized regenerative medicine company that offers the world’s first non-invasive, follicle-based, stem cell cryopreservation service and is developing treatments made from a patient’s own cells, today announced that the peer-reviewed journal, Cells, has published a study demonstrating the ability to utilize autologous cells derived from Acorn’s cell banking platform to create induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines, which have the potential to become any cell in the body. 

Cells is a leading peer-reviewed journal dedicated to cell biology, molecular biology and biophysics. A link to the open-access publication can be found here: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/13/12/1010.

In this study, the iPSCs were used to generate pancreatic progenitor cells, which are precursors to islet-beta cells. Islet-beta cells are responsible for producing insulin and are destroyed in patients with Type I diabetes. This study was funded by a research grant from MITACS, a Canadian national not-for-profit research and training organization, in partnership with the University of Toronto and with Acorn Biolabs as the sponsor.

“I’d like to thank our research partners at the University of Toronto and Mount Sinai Hospital, as well as Acorn’s scientific team for completing this important research. It reaffirms our belief that stem cells collected from an accessible source like the hair follicle offer a viable path to creating a regenerative medicine platform that has the potential to enable future medical applications across a multitude of diseases,” said Drew Taylor, MSc, PhD, CEO of Acorn Biolabs. “While Acorn’s initial focus will be to commercialize topical cosmetic products for the hair and skin, we are equally optimistic about the future potential for regenerative medicine in treating diseases. We look forward to adding to the body of knowledge around this area of medicine.” 

Acorn launched its hair-follicle derived, stem cell banking service in Canada and the United States last year.  Leveraging these preserved stem cells, Acorn plans to develop a pipeline of personalized products in aesthetics, orthopedics and other markets where stem-cell derived treatments fill an unmet need.