Mary Ann Benitez

Thursday, July 31, 2014

Health Innovative Technology chief executive Matthew Fan Chun-yin said his company is banking on the fat graft's potential as a drug in future and acquired ProStemCell last year to expand its bio- bank storage and research capabilities.

The government plans to issue new rules and regulations governing stem cell laboratories, he said.

During a tour of the laboratories of HIT ProStemCell in Kowloon Bay, Fan said scientists discovered stem cells from the extracted fat stimulate the repair of the knee cartilage and relieves pain for osteoarthritic patients.

He said it was unfortunate that liposuction has been tarnished by the death of a dance teacher and studio owner Josephine Lee Ka-ying, 32, who fell comatose and died after a four-hour liposuction treatment at the Regrowth Hair Transplant Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui on June 27 this year.

"You should not do any liposuction in a non-qualified day surgery center," said Fan, a former dietician.

He said ProStemCell, which HIT acquired last year, built a "clean-room" laboratory four years ago which meets the US Food and Drug Administration's standards.

The classification is the same required of companies for drug manufacturing and for hospital operating theaters which do open-heart surgery.

ProStemCell built the laboratory because the administration put out guidelines in 2009 requiring such stringent laboratory guidelines.

Read more:
Extracted fat put forward as cure for wobbly knees