Celltrovet already begins treatments with stem cells
Valor Econômico
Founded five years ago on the initiative of a Russian researcher during the years he worked in the laboratories of universities in Rio and São Paulo, Celltrovet, headquartered in the capital of São Paulo, starts consolidating in the veterinary market with treatments based on the use of stem cells for common disease of horses, dogs and cats.
Pavel Kerkis, Commercial Officer of the company, explains that his father, Alexander Kerkis, studies the use of stem cells for therapeutic purposes for 30 years. The idea of focusing the researches on applications in the veterinary area was born after working at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and at the University of São Paulo (USP). A project in that regard was submitted in 2006 to the Fapesp (Foundation of Research Support of the State of São Paulo), which released R$ 100 thousand (US$ 46 thousand) and collaborated to make the consolidation of Celltrovet viable. Enrico J. C. Santos, Officer of technological innovation of the company and former student of Alexander Kerkis tells the project was divided into three main parts.
In the first one, it was demonstrated it was feasible to extract stem cells with therapeutic potential from the fat of a horse; then came the tests of technical application in animals and the confirmation of the economic feasibility of the work, and, at a third moment, Celltrovet showed it could commercially offer the service, in large scale. The works with dogs and cats took place at the same time. The company, which also had the support of the National Council of Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), opened then its first laboratory in São Paulo, and it is now moving to a larger unit that cost R$ 300 thousand (US$ 160 thousand). Currently, there are five researchers on the workbenches.
The initial focus of the research, which was the recovery of an injured tendon of a horse, is, today, one of the main sources of income of the company. In this front, the "patients" are normally race horses with tendon lesions or injured sinews, fractures or cracks. In addition to these cases, dogs and cats are treated with the new technology in cases of renal lesions and bone marrow aplasia, the equivalent to human leukemia. The stem cells applied are isolated from fat or tooth pulp.
Celltrovet has been forming a stock of cells since 2006. The company currently has an inventory of 12 lines for the treatment of equines, collected from 12 different animals. For dogs and cats there are ten lines for each. Each line consists of millions of cells. The bank must be regularly renewed because the lines lose quality as they are used. Developed by Celltrovet and tested in partnerships at USP and at the Butantã Institute, the technology was patented in 2005. In equines, the treatment costs from R$ 3 thousand (US$ 1.6 thousand) (per application) to R$ 15 thousand (US$ 8 thousand) (three). For dogs and cats, the three application cycle costs R$ 3 thousand (US$ 1.6 thousand).