Science Translational Medicine
3 April 2013 vol 5, issue 179
http://stm.sciencemag.org/content/current

INNOVATION
Cell-Based Therapeutics: The Next Pillar of Medicine
Michael A. Fischbach, Jeffrey A. Bluestone, and Wendell A. Lim
3 April 2013: 179ps7
http://stm.sciencemag.org/content/5/179/179ps7.abstract

Two decades ago, the pharmaceutical industry—long dominated by small-molecule drugs—was revolutionized by the advent of biologics. Today, biomedicine sits on the cusp of a new revolution: the use of microbial and human cells as versatile therapeutic engines. Here, we discuss the promise of this “third pillar” of therapeutics in the context of current scientific, regulatory, economic, and perceptual challenges. History suggests that the advent of cellular medicines will require the development of a foundational cellular engineering science that provides a systematic framework for safely and predictably altering and regulating cellular behaviors.