The Vatican praised scientists, who had created the world’s first synthetic cell, calling it an “interesting result” that could help cure disease. Read more…
A team of scientists at the J. Craig Venter Institute announced that they have successfully created a living organism with a completely synthetic genome. Read more…
Small life-sciences companies in the US will get funds in the form of tax credits or as a grant covering 50% of project development costs (for 2009 and 2010) for companies with fewer than 250 workers. The plan, part of the US healthcare overhaul approved in March, is expected to be open to hundreds of biotech, medical device and diagnostic companies that are both public and privately held. Read more…
Three (3) human embryonic stem cell lines once eligible (5/4/10) for federal funding are “on hold” until further notice because they were derived from embryos that were too early. “These lines were derived from early embryos — those consisting of 6, 8, or 16 cells and thus formally did not fit the official definition of ES cells by the NIH,” Read more…
NIH Researchers have discovered bone-generating stem cells in the spine, at the end of the shins and in cartilage-rich areas of other bones. They also identified factors that control the growth of these stem cells, according to a report published (4/26/10) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The potential for this market is HUGE and will continue to grow as the population ages and minimally invasive surgeries and shorter hospital stays become a new standard. Read more…
The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) rejected (4/28/10) a controversial patent on human embryonic stem cells held by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF). “This is a major victory for unfettered scientific research that could lead to … Read more…
Athersys, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATHX) will host its 2nd Annual Investor/R&D Day which will be held at the Intercontinental Hotel on Friday, 5/14/10 in New York City. The meeting will begin at 8:30 to 11:30 am ET. The investor day will feature a series of presentations which will provide an overview of relevant clinical areas and therapeutic target markets, a description of the results of its programs:
Programs to create a new center for the study of stem cells and to increase capacity to deal with global health issues were among 7 scientific initiatives announced 2/25/10 by NIH Director Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD. The 7 research programs are supported through the NIH Common Fund, which encourages collaborative research programs across the NIH institutes and centers (IC) to accomplish work that no single IC could do alone. Read more…
Osiris Therapeutics is a stem cell therapeutic company focused on developing products in the inflammatory, orthopedic and cardiovascular areas. OSIR’s Q4/09 results reported achievement and data showing Prochymal achieved a 63% response rate when used as a rescue agent in children with end-stage GvHD with significant improvement in response rates over standard of care for both liver and gastrointestinal steroid-refractory GvHD – the two most deadly and difficult-to-treat forms of the disease. Graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) is a common complication of allogeneic bone marrow transplantation in which functional immune cells in the transplanted marrow recognize the recipient as “foreign” and mount an immunologic attack.
BCLI.OB announced that it has entered into agreements with 3 investors with each investing $500 K for a total of investment of $1.5 M with issuance to each of 3 investors, 2 M shares of stock based on the 30 day average share price as of 2/11/10 of $0.25 per share and 1 M warrants with an exercise price of $0.50 per share for a total issuance of 6 M shares and 3 M warrants. Read more…
Founder and Director of Research, Henry McCusker enters his eighth (8) year at Scimitar Equity with past experience in sell-side analysis, buy-side management, corporate management and due diligence.