RIKEN (the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research) in late February asked the health and welfare ministry for permission to carry out a clinical study that will use induced pluripotent (iPS) cells to treat an eye disease.

If everything goes smoothly, the treatment will be carried out early next year. In examining the request, the ministry must take utmost care to ensure safety in the clinical study — the most important thing for the clinical study.

The clinical study, believed to be the world's first using iPS cells, will make a step forward in realizing the dream of Dr. Shinya Yamanaka at Kyoto University, the creator of iPS cells, that the cells would someday be used for clinical purposes.