Ludwig said about 30 human clinical trials already are in progress or have been completed, and more are poised to start this year.

Macular degeneration, Parkinson’s, heart disease, spinal cord damage and diabetes are the most common targets — “those that will take a single type of cell to affect,” she said.

WiCell has collaborated with FCDI to test the quality of cells it produces for clients and to distribute those cell lines, she said.

Ludwig also has worked in Thomson’s lab. “What Jamie did was amazing. What people are learning from him, and what they will go on to do, will be amazing, too,” she said.

Ludwig said two of Thomson’s original cell lines are still “the most in demand in the world.”

Kamp said FCDI’s iPScs are “master stem cells” that can be coaxed into virtually any cell type in the body.

He said, though, FCDI is not the only company that will be manufacturing iPS cells for disease treatment. Companies in Japan are working toward potential products as is BlueRock Therapeutics in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Kamp said repairing damaged organs using stem cell-derived cells of that type of organ typically requires precise targeting and specialized approaches.