Stempeutics Research, a group company of Manipal Education and Medical Group and a Joint Venture with Cipla Group, announced today that it has been granted process patent from the Japan Patent Office (application no 2012-540529) for its novel stem-cell based drug Stempeucel.

The novelty covers the method of preparing master cell banks, working cell banks and the final therapeutic product ''Stempeucel'' based on the novel pooling technology. Stempeucel will initially be used for the treatment of CLI, a breakthrough treatment option which directly addresses the root cause of the disease, unlike other drugs which typically treat the symptoms and not the disease itself.

Chandru Chawla, head Cipla New Ventures said, ''Japan is showing great leadership in innovating a regulatory framework for regenerative medicine thereby addressing major unmet medical needs faster. We would like to leverage this new framework for rapid development of our Stempeucel product for the benefit of patients along with a potential partner.''

Shares of the company declined Rs 13.1, or 2.1%, to trade at Rs 610.55. The total volume of shares traded was 89,284 at the BSE (2.04 p.m., Monday).