BioEden is shaking up the £35 billion stem cell banking industry with a technology that is far from long in the tooth.
Research has estimated that in 30-40 years one in three people will be using stem cells for regenerative treatment or to prolong life.
BioEden accesses a non-invasive source of the cells from the future recipient and stores them cryogenically.
“Stem cells can alleviate the symptoms of diabetes type I by turning into insulin-secreting cells and also regenerate bone, muscle or tissue,” Tony Veverka, group chief executive at BioEden, told a BusinessCloud roundtable.
“More uses will become known as research goes on – there’s no doubt they will play a central role in medicine.
“But they are more functional and useful when they are young.
“We’ve created a technology that harvests stem cells from the dental pulp within teeth.”
An alternative that has been available for longer is the harvesting of stem cells from babies’ umbilical cord blood.
That process is relatively difficult to carry out – given the surrounding circumstances – denies the newborn baby a source of nutrients and is comparatively expensive.
Veverka added: “Between the ages of five and 12 children are going to have a dozen or so teeth fall out naturally: their parents can use the kit of solutions and gel packs to get them back to us.
“We can then harvest stem cells out of that tooth and store them.
“When that child grows up and needs an intervention, to grow another organ or for some other future use, they’ve got their own store – and there will be no issues with rejection.”
BioEden has targeted parents and grandparents and believes its pricing model makes it affordable for most people.
“It starts at £295 for the processing and £12.95 a month to store it,” Veverka said.
“We do family packs and pre-payment options. There are around 20,000 customers a month in our membership scheme across 60 countries.”