Bayer's Parkinson's Disease Therapy Gets Sakigake Designation in Japan

07:49 AM EST, 12/17/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare granted pioneering regenerative medical product, or sakigake, designation to Bayer (BAYN.F) unit BlueRock Therapeutics' bemdaneprocel, an investigational cell therapy for Parkinson's disease. The designation could allow accelerated approval and priority review for the medicine, among other benefits, according to a Wednesday release. The companies are currently enrolling patients for exPDite-2, the first late-stage study set to evaluate the safety and efficacy of bemdaneprocel.