On November 18, 2025, a major step forward in regenerative medicine was announced in Tokyo: FRONTEO and S-Quatre, two innovative Japanese biotech firms, have launched a joint project to uncover new therapeutic uses for a unique type of stem cell derived from children’s milk teeth. This collaboration, which harnesses cutting-edge artificial intelligence alongside next-generation cellular science, is poised to shake up the landscape of cell-based treatments and bring fresh hope to patients with conditions that have long eluded effective therapies.
At the heart of the project lies a remarkable cell: the stem cell from human exfoliated deciduous teeth, or SHED. Unlike the more widely known mesenchymal stem cells, embryonic stem cells (ES cells), or induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells), SHED is harvested from the pulp of children’s milk teeth—a resource that, until recently, was often discarded or simply stored away. What makes SHED stand out? According to both companies, these cells are exceptionally young and robust, boasting a strikingly high proliferation rate and a powerful ability to produce the trophic factors that drive nerve and bone growth.
S-Quatre, a wholly owned subsidiary of Kiswell Bio, has been at the forefront of SHED-based cell therapy research. Using proprietary methods to isolate and culture these cells, S-Quatre has developed a next-generation, functionally enhanced version known as SQ-SHED. The company has already demonstrated SQ-SHED’s high efficacy in animal models of cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury, difficult-to-heal bone fractures, and even brain tumors. S-Quatre’s collaborations span a wide network, including Mitsuta Pharmaceutical, Nagoya University, Kyushu University, Tokai University, the UK’s LYMPHOGENiX, and Tokyo University of Science, reflecting the broad scientific interest in this technology.
But what sets this new initiative apart is the integration of FRONTEO’s AI drug discovery support service, the Drug Discovery AI Factory (DDAIF). FRONTEO, a Tokyo-based AI powerhouse, has developed DDAIF as a platform that leverages its proprietary natural language processing engine KIBIT and unique analytical techniques. The goal? To mine the vast troves of biomedical literature and genetic data, uncovering hidden relationships between diseases and molecular targets that may not yet be reported in scientific papers. In the words of Hiroyoshi Toyoshima, FRONTEO’s Director and Chief Science Officer, “FRONTEO’s strength lies in its ability to discover previously unreported relationships between diseases and target molecules from literature information. By analyzing the characteristics of SQ-SHED with AI natural language processing, we may find new indications that have not been considered before. Such technology can be applied to other areas of regenerative medicine, and we expect this project to contribute to improving patient QOL and advancing medical science.”
The process at the core of this project is what’s known as indication discovery: the search for diseases that a particular drug or cell therapy might effectively treat. In pharmaceutical research, this is a crucial step—sometimes a medicine developed for one condition turns out to be a breakthrough for another, completely unexpected one. Here, FRONTEO’s DDAIF will sift through data to extract candidate diseases that could benefit from next-generation SQ-SHED, while S-Quatre will move to verify the efficacy of these candidates in the lab. The companies believe that by combining their expertise, they can rapidly and accurately identify the most promising new therapeutic targets for SQ-SHED, addressing unmet medical needs and expanding the reach of regenerative medicine.
The potential of SHED and its enhanced derivatives is drawing increasing attention. Because the donors are children, the cells are inherently young, which may translate to greater regenerative capacity and lower risk of age-related dysfunction. Their ability to secrete proteins involved in the formation and growth of nerves and bones opens up possibilities for treating neurological and orthopedic disorders that are notoriously difficult to manage. Unlike ES or iPS cells, SHED’s origin sidesteps many of the ethical and technical challenges associated with embryonic or reprogrammed cells, while offering a distinct biological profile.
According to S-Quatre’s President and CEO, Yasuyuki Mitani, “The next-generation SQ-SHED we are developing has the potential to become a therapeutic drug for many diseases. By utilizing FRONTEO’s AI technology, we expect to quickly and accurately identify the optimal indications.” This sentiment is echoed by both teams, who see the project as a way to not only accelerate research but also to ensure that the most promising therapies reach patients in need as soon as possible.
The project is also notable for its ambition to address so-called ‘unmet medical needs’—conditions for which no adequate treatment currently exists. By using AI-driven, unbiased, and comprehensive analysis, the joint initiative is designed to cast a wide net, catching potential new uses for SQ-SHED that traditional research pathways might miss. The hope is that this approach will lead to the discovery of optimal indications for the next-generation cells, paving the way for clinical applications that could improve the quality of life for patients suffering from a range of intractable diseases.
FRONTEO’s DDAIF platform is more than just a search engine; it’s a sophisticated decision-support tool for drug discovery. With its KIBIT technology, which has secured 21 patents across Japan, South Korea, the US, and Europe, FRONTEO can map and visualize complex relationships in biomedical data, helping researchers form new hypotheses and pinpoint promising directions for therapy development. The company’s broader mission is to provide solutions that uncover hidden risks and opportunities in the flood of recorded information, striving for fairness and insight in the information society.
S-Quatre’s commitment to maximizing the regenerative potential of SQ-SHED is equally strong. The company is actively working to enhance the safety and efficacy of its cell products, refining manufacturing processes for stable supply, and pushing forward with clinical research, particularly for conditions like cerebral palsy. By collaborating with both domestic and international partners, S-Quatre aims to bring innovative therapies and hope to patients—especially children—who face daunting medical challenges.
As the project gets underway, both companies emphasize the broader implications for the field of regenerative medicine. The ability to systematically and efficiently identify new indications for advanced cell therapies could set a precedent for future research, making the development process faster, more targeted, and more responsive to real-world patient needs.
With the launch of this ambitious joint venture, the intersection of artificial intelligence and next-generation stem cell science is moving from theory to practice. The coming years will reveal whether the promise of SHED, supercharged by AI, can deliver on its potential to transform treatment for some of medicine’s most stubborn challenges.
