At the 25th annual meeting of the American Society for Cell and Gene Therapy, medical researchers from Japan showcased their expertise in developing gene therapy in a session titled ‘Cutting edge cell and gene therapy research in Japan’. Looking beyond oncology and genetic diseases, Japan’s biomedical community is working on developing new therapies, improving gene therapy efficiency and targeting specific tissues. The session showcased examples of the latest  developments in cell and gene therapy research in Japan. 

A roadmap to gene therapy for cardiovascular diseases

Dr. Yoshikazu Yonemitsu from Kyushu University reviewed the evolution of RNA therapy for cardiaovascular diseases and the importance of large scale, double-blinded and randomized clinical trials to eliminate biases and errors for evaluating the efficacy of cell therapy. While most gene therapy candidates focus on oncology and genetic diseases, clinical success for cardiovascular diseases has been limited.