Login to Continue Learning
Sunlight bathes the leafy campus of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. Inside the labs, scientists work under cool fluorescent lights, wearing green protective gear to tend to test tubes in hermetically sealed cleanrooms. The containers hold mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), the fruits of today’s labor.
Each MSC is barely a quarter the width of a human hair but possesses remarkable power. They reduce inflammation, repair damaged tissue, and modulate the immune system. MSCs can treat chronic diseases, delay aging, and even prevent illness before it starts. But to become a mainstay of modern healthcare, they must be produced at scale, affordably, and reliably.
That seemed distant until recently. Now, scientists at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm believe this is approaching reality. They’re working for Cellcolabs, a Swedish startup aiming to address the global scarcity of stem cell treatments.
Cellcolabs believes that shortage could soon be overcome thanks to scientific, regulatory, and technological advances. MSCs are edging towards the consumer market within the next decade, with prices set to drop by up to 90%.
In the lab, progress looks impressive. The latest harvest from a single donation has yielded 4.1 billion cells, enough for up to 200 standard doses.
Cellcolabs CEO Dr Mattias Bernow sees today’s harvest as just a taste of what’s to come. “I truly believe that we’re at an inflection point in the history of medicine,” he says.
### The Power of MSCs
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) exist naturally in the body, with billions present and acting like a repair crew for internal issues. They can also be extracted, multiplied, and turned into medical treatments.
Karolinska Institute was pivotal in this field; in 2012, its Nobel Assembly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to John Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka for their discovery that mature cells can become pluripotent — capable of becoming almost any cell type. This breakthrough redefined regenerative medicine.
MSCs (mesenchymal stem cells) are among the most promising examples. When injected, they release signals that trigger healing processes in the body. They treat a wide range of conditions, from arthritis and heart disease to immune disorders. MSCs can be extracted from bone marrow donations; 50 milliliters of marrow produce up to 200 doses.
At Cellcolabs, scientists are working towards industrial-scale production. This is largely due to the pioneering research of Professor Katarina Le Blanc, who demonstrated that MSCs could combat inflammatory and immune diseases. Her work established clinical-grade production standards, enabling large-scale trials and broader therapeutic use.
Le Blanc’s early clinical work focused on treating complications from bone marrow transplants using MSCs. More than half of her trial participants survived, which “blew up the entire field,” according to Cellcolabs CEO Dr. Mattias Bernow. To address the global shortage of stem cell treatments, Le Blanc co-founded Cellcolabs in 2021.
At the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, scientists are working on scaling mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) production. Each MSC is tiny—less than a quarter the width of a hair—but it has immense potential to reduce inflammation, repair damaged tissue, and modulate the immune system. This makes them valuable for treating chronic diseases and delaying aging.
Cellcolabs, a Swedish startup founded by Professor Katarina Le Blanc, aims to produce these cells at scale affordably and reliably. Their process starts with harvesting MSCs from bone marrow donations of healthy young adults, which can yield up to 200 doses from just 50 milliliters (about a shot glass). The goal is to reduce production costs by up to 90% within the next decade.
At the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, scientists work meticulously under cool fluorescent lights, cultivating MSCs. This process has already yielded impressive results, with one recent harvest producing 4.1 billion cells. CEO Dr. Mattias Bernow believes they are at an inflection point in medicine’s history.
MSCs (mesenchymal stem cells) possess remarkable healing capabilities. They reduce inflammation, repair damaged tissue, and modulate the immune system. They can treat numerous conditions, from arthritis to heart disease, and potentially even prevent illness before it starts.
Cellcolabs sources MSCs from healthy bone marrow donations of individuals aged 18-30. A single donation can yield up to 200 doses. The process is quick and minimally invasive but has long been challenging due to the complexity of scaling stem cell production. Professor Katarina Le Blanc’s pioneering research laid the groundwork for industrial-scale MSC production.
Le Blanc demonstrated that MSCs could combat inflammatory and immune diseases, paving the way for large-scale clinical trials. Her work also showed that donated cells were suitable for therapeutic use, crucial for commercialization. In 2021, she co-founded Cellcolabs to address the global shortage of stem cell treatments.
Cellcolabs aims to reduce production costs by up to 90% within a decade, making stem cell therapies more accessible. This could transform healthcare from reactive to preventative, potentially extending our healthy lifespan. The company is currently testing MSCs for various conditions like musculoskeletal injuries and knee osteoarthritis in the Bahamas and Abu Dhabi.
MSCs can reduce inflammation, repair damaged tissue, and modulate the immune system, treating a wide range of chronic diseases. They are extracted from bone marrow, harvested from donors aged 18 to 30, and multiplied in cleanrooms with strict quality control. The production process is complex but has seen significant advancements, particularly through the work of Professor Katarina Le Blanc.
Le Blanc’s research demonstrated that MSCs could combat inflammatory and immune diseases, paving the way for large-scale clinical trials and commercialization. Her findings enabled Cellcolabs, a Swedish startup she co-founded in 2021, to establish production standards and obtain approval from Karolinska Institute. This has led to a rapid reduction in production costs and hopes of achieving a tenfold price drop within the next decade.
At the lab, CPO Lina Sörvik leads tours of the facilities, where scientists meticulously work under cool fluorescent light, clad in green protective gear, tending to test tubes containing mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Each cell is tiny, barely a quarter the width of a human hair, yet holds remarkable power to reduce inflammation, repair tissue, and modulate the immune system. MSCs can treat chronic diseases, delay aging, and even prevent illness.
Cellcolabs, a Swedish startup founded to address global shortages in stem cell treatments, believes that MSC production at scale is imminent. This progress is driven by scientific, regulatory, and technological advancements. The company aims to cut prices up to 90% within the next decade.
At the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, scientists work diligently under cool fluorescent lights, producing mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in hermetically sealed cleanrooms. Each MSC is about a quarter the width of a human hair but possesses remarkable regenerative abilities. They can reduce inflammation, repair damaged tissues, and modulate the immune system.
Karolinska scientists believe that MSCs are approaching mass production due to recent scientific, regulatory, and technological advancements. Cellcolabs, a Swedish startup formed by these researchers, aims to produce MSCs affordably and reliably. Within the next decade, they plan to reduce prices by up to 90%.
The progress in the lab is impressive. A single donation has yielded 4.1 billion cells, enough for up to 200 standard doses. Cellcolabs sources its MSCs from healthy bone marrow donors aged 18 to 30. Just 50 milliliters of marrow can produce up to 200 doses, and the body naturally regenerates in six to eight weeks.
Cellcolabs CEO Dr. Mattias Bernow is optimistic about scaling stem cell production. “I truly believe we’re at an inflection point in the history of medicine,” he says. MSCs (mesenchymal stem cells) have remarkable power, reducing inflammation, repairing tissue, and modulating the immune system. They can treat chronic diseases and delay aging.
MSCs are naturally found in the body but can be extracted and multiplied for medical treatments. In 2012, Professor Katarina Le Blanc showed that donated MSCs could combat inflammatory and immune diseases. Her research laid the groundwork for large-scale production standards at Cellcolabs.
Le Blanc’s work demonstrated that scaled-up stem cell production was feasible. As a result, Cellcolabs now aims to produce MSCs affordably and reliably. The startup sources cells from healthy donors aged 18-30, extracting just 50 milliliters of bone marrow—equivalent to about one shot glass—to yield up to 200 doses.
The company sees industrial-scale production on the horizon, thanks largely to pioneering research by Professor Katarina Le Blanc. Her work demonstrated that MSCs could combat inflammatory and immune diseases and proved donated cells were suitable for therapeutic use. This paved the way for large-scale trials and broader medical applications.
On a recent harvest day at Karolinska Institute, scientists cultivated 4.1 billion mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from a single donation—enough for up to 200 standard doses. The CEO of Cellcolabs, Dr. Mattias Bernow, is optimistic about the future. “I truly believe that
