Understanding Visionary BioMed’s Cell-Sheet Approach

TL;DR

• We’re developing an autologous epithelial cell-sheet made from a patient’s own oral cells to help restore a damaged corneal surface.

• Lead program VB-008 is authorized to begin Phase 1 evaluation in Taiwan; earliest studies focus on safety and procedural workflow.

• Typical lab cultivation takes about three weeks; timing varies by protocol and patient.

• The goal is a patient-specific approach that’s clinically practical and carefully evidenced.

If you’ve ever had a speck of dust in your eye, you know how sensitive the corneal surface is. For some people, that surface—the epithelium—can be seriously damaged or stop renewing itself. This condition, called limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD), can stem from chemical or thermal injuries, inflammatory disease, or inherited problems. When the cornea can’t repair, patients live with pain, light sensitivity, inflammation, and scarring; over time, vision can be reduced or lost.

Visionary BioMed (VBM) is a cell-therapy startup working on a practical approach to restore that surface. The company’s science comes from Taipei Medical University, where researchers have been pioneering a technique called “cell-sheet engineering.” Instead of injecting cells or relying on donor grafts, the idea is to grow a thin, cohesive sheet of a patient’s own epithelial cells and place it on the eye to help re-establish a healthy surface.

VBM’s lead program is named VB-008. It’s an autologous (patient-derived) corneal epithelium repair solution that has authorization to enter Phase 1 clinical evaluation in Taiwan. The initial focus is LSCD, with exploratory work also referencing severe Dry Eye. In plain terms, Phase 1 is where safety and procedure feasibility are studied carefully in people.

How does this work without getting too technical? A clinician takes a very small sample of epithelial cells from inside the patient’s cheek (the buccal mucosa). Those cells are expanded in a lab using a controlled process until they form a uniform, handleable sheet that can be moved to the eye. VBM notes that, under typical conditions, the lab phase takes on the order of ~21 days before a sheet is ready. The “autologous” part is important: because the cells come from the same patient, the approach is designed for compatibility.

Why a sheet? A cohesive sheet lets a surgeon place many cells at once in the right orientation, and—critically—without the enzymes that can damage delicate surface structures. VBM’s intellectual property includes methods for cell culture on a special support and a chemistry-based way to release an intact sheet from that surface so it can be transferred to the eye. That invention—“supports for cell culture and cell sheet detachment and methods for cell sheet detachment”—is protected by patents including US 9,546,349 B2 and corresponding filings in Taiwan.

For patients, the steps look like this: first, collect a tiny sample from the inner cheek; second, grow and prepare the epithelial sheet; third, place it on the cornea in a short procedure; and finally, monitor healing over time. VBM’s materials repeatedly show this three-step loop—collect, engineer, re-plant—aimed at re-epithelializing the damaged surface.

Where does this sit among other options? Traditional corneal grafts rely on donated tissue, and some device approaches substitute an artificial corneal component. There are also limbal stem-cell methods that use cells from the cornea’s edge. VBM’s approach is different because it uses oral mucosal epithelial cells (from the cheek) and a sheet-based engineering method—another path to re-forming a healthy epithelium. The company’s decks compare techniques by the corneal layer they target (epithelium, stroma, endothelium, full thickness), underscoring why a surface-layer solution matters for LSCD.

Why now? The basics of the platform are in place, the company has the regulatory green light to move into first-in-human work in Taiwan, and there’s a clear, urgent unmet need in severe ocular surface disease. The promise here isn’t hype—it’s the possibility of giving a patient’s eye a fresh, living epithelial layer produced from their own cells, delivered in a way that respects clinical realities and quality controls.

As the program advances, expect measured updates: the number of participants, the procedures used, safety observations, and how surgeons assess the surface over time. Early trials won’t answer everything, but they are the necessary first step to show the procedure can be done consistently and safely. Until data are in, VB-008 remains an investigational product candidate.

Disclosure: All product candidates are investigational and not approved for commercial use. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties.