Japan Approves First iPS Cell Treatments for Heart Failure and Parkinson’s Disease
In February 2026, Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare approved two regenerative medicine products based on iPS cells, targeting Parkinson's disease and severe heart failure. This decision marks a landmark moment in the history of biology and medicine: the biological rule that "once cells die, they cannot come back" has been challenged at the clinical level for the first time. What began as a discovery in a Kyoto University laboratory two decades ago has now reached patients as approved medical treatment.
