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Agree on PPMD , thats why i havent sold a single share.
well - i bot more on Friday...
...and wont get into a pissing contest on "wills" because i know what its like to hold tight --- not "amost to a fault" but indeed "to fault."
i know you are holding THMG - and i can tell you i have been holding that stock and trading it since .035 X .04 which i believe was in 1998 when i started buying. admit that im not holding as much as i did at one time... but then it has had some nice spikes too.
i have purchased PPMD from .10 to .25 ... i may have even paid a little higher for some, so i have no reason to sell at these levels.
.10 to .25 is BASE for this stock. me thinks if/when this stock does run, it will run hard.
Lazarus
Was not me. Havent dumped a single share. You will likely dump before me. I have the will of Solomon. Almost to a fault lol
fwiw - i added a few more today /em
I need to get some at these levels!!
somebody dumped a chunk of shares today /em
BLFS gradually moving up - now .14 X .15...
and sporting a market cap of nearly 10 million dollars.
PPMD share price would need to be nearly 2 bucks to have an equivalent market cap.
http://www.pinksheets.com/quote/company_profile.jsp?symbol=BLFS
BLFS puts out press releases to let the world know what they are doing:
http://www.pinksheets.com/quote/news.jsp?symbol=BLFS
Lazarus
CHICAGO – In April 2006, Chicago celebrated the first Midwest Olympics of biotech. Chicago broke all the meeting records including total attendance, foreign attendance, total money raised, partnering sessions and exhibit hall area. You name it and it was broken.
Of course, records are made to be broken.
So what am I talking about? The BIO annual international convention being held this year in Boston is one of the cradles of biotech. Unlike the real Olympics, it happens every year and not every four years. Like the real Olympics, it is about broad international participation.
As the event is still only two days old (it started on May 6), Monday was the first real day. On Monday, the vast exhibit hall opened to get a real feel for the full attendance.
There are records being broken. For example, let’s take the full attendance record. The 2006 meeting in Chicago was just shy of 20,000 people. Rumors here in Boston are that the new number will be closer to 22,000, which is a growth of about 10 percent if it happens. Where are they coming from?
According to BIO President Jim Greenwood in Sunday night’s public official reception, more than 5,500 people (about 25 percent) are coming from overseas. The leading delegation is Canada with about 1,100 attendees. Surprisingly, the No. 2 delegation is Malaysia with about 350 delegates.
The deputy prime minister of Malaysia spoke on Sunday night of the importance of biotechnology in his country. By coincidence, he didn’t know of this large Malaysian contingent.
I had lunch on Sunday with a venture capitalist from this country that has a joint venture with Burrill & Co. He represents the outpost for looking at Asian technologies and companies for Burrill using his base in Kuala Lumpur to travel to India, Singapore, Korea and China.
Boston is sporting a brand-new convention center – the old one would have hardly been able to contain this burgeoning event – and it is big!
One advantage over Chicago’s huge convention center (one of the reasons why Chicago got the BIO convention to come back so quickly in 2010) is that enclosed walkways allow you to walk over the exhibit hall from several vantage points and see this amazing international bazaar below.
As many of you may remember, the original cities where biotech developed back in the 1970s were Boston, San Francisco, Chicago and Geneva. Boston has a rightful claim to this event. Boston has more biotech companies than any other city except San Francisco and probably has more companies per square inch in Cambridge than any other place.
In fact, the amount of biotech research clustered in Boston – not just the companies but the surrounding hospital network (Massachusetts General Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess, Dana Farber Cancer Center, etc.) and university research network (Harvard, MIT, Boston University, etc.) – is so attractive that pharmaceutical giants Pfizer and Novartis have set up major R&D centers in Cambridge.
So has AstraZeneca, Amgen and even Abbott Labs in nearby Worcester.
What strikes me this year is the huge international growth of biotech. The annual meeting used to just be a U.S. and Canadian event (it has been held twice in Toronto). During the late 1990s, increased participation from Europe began to change the attendance mix and flavor. The last few years have been about Asia starting with the Australians but now also with large participation from Malaysia, Singapore, China, Japan, Korea and Thailand.
This year also adds Latin America to the mix with delegates and programs from Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and Chile. I heard more than a few Argentinean Spanish accents on Sunday. This is an industry that now boosts more than 5,000 biotech companies around the world of which only about 1,500 are in the U.S.
This means that a good 3,500 biotech companies exist outside the U.S.
The unique international flavor of this industry makes it exciting. When the exhibit floor opened on Monday, it was somewhat akin to Epcot Center’s “land of the countries” at Disney World. On Monday night, many of the countries and U.S. states put on competing receptions at different points in the city.
The Japanese External Trade Organization (JETRO) one is always fun and is a good insight into Japanese culture. iBIO in Illinois along with MOBIO in Missouri put on a Midwest blues reception. These were just two of the many competing events on Monday night.
There is much to talk about and the event is only getting under way. As pointed out in Sunday’s Boston Globe, we have to recognize Boston’s contribution to the development of this growing and transformational industry. Some of these contributions include the following milestones:
1976 to 1977: The Cambridge City Council holds hearings on the safety of recombinant DNA research and passes the country’s first ordinance regulating the work
1978: Biogen (now Biogen Idec) founded by Harvard professor Walter Gilbert and MIT professor Phillip Sharp
1981: Genzyme founded in Boston’s Chinatown
1982: The Whitehead Institute is founded in Cambridge and becomes a leading research center providing about one-third of the human genome sequence (200)
1983: Council for Responsible Genetics is founded in Cambridge
1985: Massachusetts Biotechnology Council (the state biotech association) founded
1988: The “Harvard mouse” becomes the first patented animal (a genetically altered mouse susceptible to breast cancer)
1991: Genzyme’s Ceredase is approved by the FDA to treat Gaucher’s disease and had 2006 sales in excess of $1 billion
1996: Biogen’s drug Avonex for multiple sclerosis is approved by the FDA also with sales in excess of $1 billion annually
2003: The Broad Institute is founded in Cambridge to give scientists access to the human genome project and to understand the molecular basis of disease
2007: University of Massachusetts scientist Craig Mello shares the Nobel Prize with Andrew Fire of Stanford University for discovering a special kind of RNA that can shut down individual genes
As the original Olympics always brings a spirit of global unity, so does the biotech Olympics bring together a worldwide spirit of progress toward conquering disease and other societal problems (renewable fuels, the environment, etc.). It is a time of hope and optimism.
Michael J. Fox, a victim of and spokesperson for research for the neurological disorder of Parkinson’s disease, will speak this week. Like others in prior meetings will address the progress made in such diseases, he’ll also urge the industry to press on with great urgency to vanquish these diseases. That is what this meeting is really about
When Smell Cells Fail They Call In Stem Cell Reserves
5/1/2007
Hopkins researchers have identified a backup supply of stem cells that can repair the most severe damage to the nerves responsible for our sense of smell. These reservists normally lie around and do nothing, but when neighboring cells die, the scientists say, the stem cells jump into action. A report on the discovery will appear online next week in Nature Neuroscience.
"These stem cells act like the Army Reserves of our nose," explains lead author Randall Reed, Ph.D., a professor of neuroscience at Johns Hopkins, "supporting a class of active-duty stem cells that help repair normal wear and tear. They don't come in until things are really bad."
The only nerve cells in the body to run directly from the brain to the outside world, olfactory cells are under constant assault from harsh chemicals that one might happen to catch a whiff of by accident, risking damage or death.
To figure out how the olfactory system repairs severely damaged nerve cells, Reed's team exposed mouse olfactory nerves to a cloud of toxic methyl-bromide gas. Methyl bromide kills not only olfactory nerve cells but also neighboring, non-nerve cells in the nasal passage. Three weeks after chemical exposure, the researchers examined nasal cells to see which, if any, had grown back.
They discovered that the newly grown cells, both nerve and non-nerve, grew from HBCs-a population of cells not previously known for repair abilities. "We were stunned because HBCs normally don't grow much or do anything," says Reed. "And the most surprising thing is that HBCs can grow into both nerves and non-nerve cells; they do so by generating the other active type of nasal stem cell."
The team then went back and looked at nerve repair under less damaging circumstances where only the olfactory nerve cells are killed. In this situation, the HBCs did nothing to repair the damaged cells; rather, they allowed the previously known stem cells to do all the repair work.
"The ability to smell is crucial for eating, mating and survival, and it's important that the olfactory system be fully operational all the time," explains Reed. "The HBCs act as a fail-safe to ensure continued function of the sense of smell."
The discovery of these two distinct types of stem cells in one neural tissue is a first, says Reed, who is interested to see if other types of nerves in the body have similar repair mechanisms in play.
SOURCE: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
BioLife Solutions Grants Product License to Centocor Research & Development, Inc.
Wednesday April 25, 3:22 pm ET
OWEGO, N.Y., April 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- BioLife Solutions Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: BLFS - News) a leading manufacturer of proprietary preservation media products for cells and tissues, announced today that it has granted a product license to Centocor Research & Development, Inc. The agreement provides Centocor with certain rights to long term access to BioLife's CryoStor DLite reduced DMSO cryopreservation media. CryoStor DLite is used in the production of Centocor's emerging cell therapy products targeting several clinical applications. Financial terms of the licensing agreement were not disclosed.
We are extremely pleased to work with Centocor by providing enabling technology for the development and commercialization of new cell therapy products," said Mike Rice, chief executive officer, BioLife Solutions. "This agreement reinforces the strength of our intellectual property portfolio and may demonstrate the unique advantages of improved post-preservation cell viability and function that our products provide to academic researchers and cell therapy companies."
According to an August 2006 research report published by Jain PharmaBiotech, the total value of cell based markets was $26.6 billion in 2005 and is expected to grow to $96.3 billion in 2015. More than 300 companies are engaged in the development and commercialization of new cellular based therapies.
About BioLife Solutions
BioLife Solutions develops, manufactures and markets patented hypothermic storage and cryopreservation solutions for cells, tissues, and organs. The Company's proprietary HypoThermosol® and CryoStor(TM) preservation media are marketed to companies, laboratories, and academic institutions engaged in research and commercial clinical applications. BioLife's line of serum-free and protein-free preservation solutions are fully defined and formulated to reduce or prevent preservation-induced, delayed-onset cell damage and death. BioLife's platform enabling technology provides academic and clinical researchers significant improvement in post-thaw cell, tissue, and organ viability.
For more information please visit www.biolifesolutions.com.
This news release contains forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include any statements that relate to the intent, belief, plans or expectations of the Company or its management, or that are not a statement of historical fact. Any forward-looking statements in this news release are based on current expectations and beliefs and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Some of the specific factors that could cause BioLife Solutions' actual results to differ materially are discussed in the Company's recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. BioLife Solutions disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this press release.
Media Relations Contacts: Investor Relations Contact:
Len Hall Matt Clawson
BioLife Solutions BioLife Solutions
(949) 474-4300 (949) 474-4300
len@allencaron.com matt@allencaron.com
wish i could answer that :(
i have another stock i own that is doing fairly well and the CFO has told me that they dont want to report because they dont want the competition to know what they are doing, what their gross margins are, what new markets they are expanding into, etc.... but at least in their case they have also made it clear that they want to go private.
Lazarus
ps... CHRIST IS RISEN! had a great Pascha. we're going to have a pan-orthodox liturgy this am [Bright Monday] and then go out for breakfast.
Lazarus what do you feel is the reason for PPMD not to want be fully reporting and show the investing public that it has higher revs and possibly more profitable than BFLS? That would likely bring much more attention to the stock. Not that i want any attention yet lol (i would still like to grab some more at these prices). Just curious what your opinion is about why they dont report? Thanks and a Blessed Easter
BLFS sporting a market cap over 11 times that of PPMD...
and PPMD is probably in better financial shape and i suspect has greater sales revenues WITH profit.
Lazarus - the ever-speculating
BLFS BioLife Solutions Inc. Reports Preliminary Sales for First-Quarter 2007
41% Sales Growth Driven by Increasing Product Adoption in Cell Therapy Market
Apr 5, 2007 7:30:00 AM
OWEGO, N.Y., April 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- BioLife Solutions Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: BLFS), a leading developer and manufacturer of proprietary preservation media for cells, tissues, and organs, today announced preliminary sales for first-quarter ended March 31, 2007, of approximately $208,000, which represents 41 percent growth over the first quarter of 2006 and 18 percent sequential growth compared to the fourth quarter of 2006.
Chief Executive Mike Rice remarked: "First-quarter sales growth was driven by increased use of our HypoThermosol(R) and CryoStor(TM) cell preservation products by several emerging and established companies engaged in commercializing new cellular-based therapies to treat cancer, heart disease, HIV, and skin and bone disorders.
"Our products are being used increasingly to preserve and transport biologic material from collection sites to processing facilities and also to transport final cell therapy products to clinical sites for patient application," Rice continued. "Our patented preservation media products benefit our cell therapy customers by improving post preservation viability of cellular source material and finished products."
Rice added: "The cost structure and clinical impact of cell therapy products are heavily dependent on the effectiveness of the preservation and transportation protocols used. We're pleased that a growing number of cell therapy companies recognize the unique advantages our products provide in optimizing these protocols."
According to an August 2006 research report published by Jain PharmaBiotech, the total value of cell-based markets was $27 billion in 2005 and is expected to grow to $96 billion in 2015, as more than 300 companies are engaged in developing cell-based alternatives to medical devices and drugs to treat and possibly cure numerous acute and chronic diseases.
PA Consulting Group, a global consulting firm with expertise in life sciences and healthcare, estimates the worldwide market for media to preserve cells, tissues, and organs for research and clinical applications will grow from $200 million in 2007 to more than $300 million by 2011.
BioLife expects to report final results for first-quarter 2007 and file Form 10-Q on or about May 14, 2007.
As part of its expanded sales and marketing strategy, BioLife will be exhibiting and presenting at the following events:
* BIO 2007 annual international convention, May 6-9 in Boston, MA
* International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) annual meeting,
June 17-21 in Cairns, Australia
* International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT) annual meeting,
June 24-27 in Sydney, Australia
About BioLife Solutions
BioLife Solutions develops, manufactures and markets patented hypothermic storage and cryopreservation solutions for cells, tissues, and organs. The Company's proprietary HypoThermosol(R) and CryoStor(TM) preservation media are marketed to companies, laboratories, and academic institutions engaged in research and commercial clinical applications. BioLife's line of serum-free and protein-free preservation solutions are fully defined and formulated to reduce or prevent preservation-induced, delayed-onset cell damage and death. BioLife's platform enabling technology provides academic and clinical researchers significant improvement in post-thaw cell, tissue, and organ viability and function.
For more information please visit BioLife Solutions' website at www.biolifesolutions.com.
This news release contains forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include any statements that relate to the intent, belief, plans or expectations of the Company or its management, or that are not a statement of historical fact. Any forward-looking statements in this news release are based on current expectations and beliefs and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Some of the specific factors that could cause BioLife Solutions' actual results to differ materially are discussed in the Company's recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. BioLife Solutions disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this press release.
Media Relations Contact: Investor Relations Contacts:
Len Hall Matt Clawson or Dan Matsui
Allen & Caron, Inc. Allen & Caron, Inc.
(949) 474-4300 (949) 474-4300
len@allencaron.com matt@allencaron.com
SOURCE BioLife Solutions Inc.
----------------------------------------------
bid upticked a half a penny recently...
somebody besides me is ACTUALLY bidding for some stock. how refreshing!
Lazarus
Another 'Adult' Stem Cell Success Reported Ahead of Senate Debate
By Patrick Goodenough
CNSNews.com Managing Editor
April 04, 2007
(CNSNews.com) - A week before the U.S. Senate again grapples with the explosive issue of embryonic stem cell research, one of the most stunning reported advances in bio-technology in years comes from stem cells not harvested from human embryos but derived from a non-controversial source.
British researchers have for the first time grown part of a human heart, using "adult" stem cells derived from bone marrow, British media reported this week.
If trials in animals such as pigs and sheep prove successful later this year, the London-based team led by professor Sir Magdi Yacoub said such replacement tissue could be used in transplants for heart disease patients within three years.
Yacoub, professor of cardiac surgery at Imperial College, told The Guardian newspaper that a whole, functioning heart could be produced from stem cells within a decade, a goal he described as "ambitious ... but not impossible."
The researchers hope to grow a heart valve that will not be rejected by the patient's body - because the stem cells are the patient's own - and that will have a longer life than artificial (plastic or metal) valves currently being used in heart patients.
Using the tissue could ultimately preclude the need for a heart transplant, they said.
The researchers' achievements are due to be published in August in the Royal Society's Philosophical Transactions journal, in a special edition on "Bioengineering the Heart."
According to the U.N.'s World Health Organization, some 17.5 million people around the world died of cardiovascular disease in 2005 - 30 percent of all global deaths. Of those, an estimated 7.6 million deaths were due to coronary heart disease and 5.7 million to stroke.
The push to use stem cells to treat a range of diseases and injuries is at the forefront of modern bio-science endeavor, but the sourcing of the cells remains a pressing ethical issue.
Proponents of embryonic stem cell (ESC) research say cells from early-stage human embryos are likely to be the most effective and have the greatest potential to turn into many different types of cells ("pluripotency"), but the fact that the embryos are destroyed in the process makes the work highly controversial.
"Adult" stem cells from alternative sources, such as bone marrow, placentas, umbilical cords and nasal passages, are already reportedly being used in scores of treatments, and for many who oppose ESC research, this is the work that should receive more attention and more taxpayer funding.
Supporters of "adult" stem cell research also note that cells from a patient's own body do not share problems of rejection often experienced in the case of embryonic stem cells.
ESC research is being carried out in many parts of the United States, but largely with private funding, since President Bush in 2001 restricted federal funding to work on a limited number of then-existing ESC colonies.
Next Wednesday, the U.S. Senate is due to vote on a bill introduced by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, mandating federal funding for ESC research.
The House of Representatives passed a similar bill last January but will also have to vote on the Senate bill before it can be sent to the president.
Bush has already pledged to veto the bill, as he did with similar legislation last year.
Another bill before the Senate next Wednesday is an alternative sponsored by Sens. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) and Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), seeking federal funding for stem cell research that would not harm embryos.
'Dubious notion'
The latest breakthrough, like many previous ones - including Australian trials that have reinjected patients' own stem cells into their hearts to repair damaged muscle tissue - uses "adult" cells, not embryonic ones.
But most media coverage of the news downplayed that fact, with the descriptor "adult" rarely appearing.
"As I always say: Most biotechnology is not controversial," bioethicist and Discovery Institute senior fellow Wesley J. Smith said in reaction to the news from Britain. "This is a wonderful example. Let us hope that the reality meets the dream."
Proponents of ESC research have frequently dismissed or downplayed the importance of "adult" cells.
Last year, the New England Journal of Medicine reported that while many hospitals around the world now routinely inject bone marrow stem cells into the blood vessels surrounding the heart to induce recovery of damaged heart muscle cells, the intervention offers little benefit.
In an article called "The Politics and Promise of Stem-Cell Research," NEJM deputy editor Robert Schwartz took issue with the White House position that "adult" stem cells offer far more promise than embryonic ones.
"The notion that adult stem cells have the same developmental potential as embryonic stem cells, let alone 'more promise,' is dubious," Schwartz wrote.
"There is evidence in laboratory animals that an adult stem cell can differentiate into a cell that normally belongs to a different/super /nosupersub lineage ... but such reports of a pluripotent stem cell that can transdifferentiate have been challenged," he said.
Meanwhile, at the University of Dusseldorf in Germany, scientists have found bone marrow stem cells useful in dealing with advanced cancer of the liver.
According to a study published in the April issue of the journal Radiology, some patients with advanced liver cancer cannot undergo surgery because removing the large cancer would leave too little of the liver - less than 25 percent - remaining to support the body's functioning.
Seven patients underwent a standard treatment involving diverting the blood supply from the cancerous part of the organ to the healthy part, while another six patients received that treatment plus an injection of liver stem cells taken from each patient's own bone marrow.
The latter six patients' livers grew twice as fast as the others, the doctors reported.
"Based on our results, we also believe that adult stem cell administration may be a promising therapy for regenerating livers damaged by other chronic and acute diseases," the journal quoted the study's co-author, Jan Schulte am Esch, as saying.
British team grows human heart valve from stem cells
Tissue for transplants could be available within three years if trials are successful
Alok Jha, science correspondent
Monday April 2, 2007
The Guardian
A British research team led by the world's leading heart surgeon has grown part of a human heart from stem cells for the first time. If animal trials scheduled for later this year prove successful, replacement tissue could be used in transplants for the hundreds of thousands of people suffering from heart disease within three years.
Sir Magdi Yacoub, a professor of cardiac surgery at Imperial College London, has worked on ways to tackle the shortage of donated hearts for transplant for more than a decade. His team at the heart science centre at Harefield hospital have grown tissue that works in the same way as the valves in human hearts, a significant step towards the goal of growing whole replacement hearts from stem cells.
According to the World Health Organisation, 15 million people died of cardiovascular disease in 2005; by 2010, it is estimated that 600,000 people around the world will need replacement heart valves. "You can see the common pathway of death and suffering is heart failure," said Prof Yacoub. "Reversing heart failure could have a major impact."
Growing replacement tissue from stem cells is one of the principal goals of biology. If a damaged part of the body can be replaced by tissue that is genetically matched to the patient, there is no chance of rejection. So far, scientists have grown tendons, cartilages and bladders, but none of these has the complexity of organs, which are three-dimensional structures of dozens of different types of cells.
To crack the problem, Prof Yacoub assembled a team of physicists, biologists, engineers, pharmacologists, cellular scientists and clinicians. Their task - to characterise how every bit of the heart works - has so far taken 10 years. The progress of his team and that of colleagues around the world will be published in August in a special edition of the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.
Prof Yacoub said his team's latest work had brought the goal of growing a whole, beating human heart closer. "It is an ambitious project but not impossible. If you want me to guess I'd say 10 years. But experience has shown that the progress that is happening nowadays makes it possible to achieve milestones in a shorter time. I wouldn't be surprised if it was some day sooner than we think."
Currently, many people suffering from heart valve disease have artificial replacement valves. Though they save lives, the artificial valves are far from perfect. They perform none of the more sophisticated functions of living tissue, children need their valves replaced as they grow, and patients need a lifetime of drugs to prevent complications after surgery.
"The way a living valve functions, it anticipates haemodynamic events and responds and changes its shape and size. It's completely different from an artificial valve which will just open and shut. The heart muscle itself will appreciate something which will make it free to contract properly," said Prof Yacoub.
Adrian Chester, one of the lead scientists at the Harefield centre, has focused on characterising the valves in the heart. "You have mediators in blood or released locally in the valve that can make parts of the valve contract and relax. That work has then extended into looking at the incidence of nerves in the valve - these can cause the types of contractions and relaxations in a very specific way."
By using chemical and physical nudges, the scientists first coaxed stem cells extracted from bone marrow to grow into heart valve cells. By placing these cells into scaffolds made of collagen, Dr Chester and his colleague Patricia Taylor then grew small 3cm-wide discs of heart valve tissue. Later this year, that tissue will be implanted into animals - probably sheep or pigs - and monitored to see how well it works as part of a circulatory system.
If that trial works well, Prof Yacoub is optimistic that the replacement heart tissue, which can be grown into the shape of a human heart valve using specially-designed collagen scaffolds, could be used in patients within three to five years.
Growing a suitably-sized piece of tissue from a patient's own stem cells would take around a month but he said that most people would not need such individualised treatment. A store of ready-grown tissue made from a wide variety of stem cells could provide good matches for the majority of the population.
Prof Yacoub's inspiration has come not only from other scientists but also from an unexpected source - the celebrated British artist, Antony Gormley, who has donated a sculpture to the heart science centre. "We need a lot of experts from different fields but we also need a lot of imagination and a lot of understanding of how form interacts with function," said Prof Yacoub. "Art gives a lot of inspiration and beauty. And beauty is part of science."
Mr Gormley, who has also contributed to the upcoming special issue of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society with an article on the relationship between form and function in sculpture, said he admired the universalism with which Prof Yacoub approached his work. "He manages to do the Robin Hood job in a very important way for the benefit of all humanity. I found in him a fellow traveller in terms of trying to do things at the fringes of the possible with the highest levels of input in terms of technology and intelligence. Everybody breathes air, everybody pumps blood."
From the European Patent Office:
1 Cryopreservation solution in my patents list
Inventor: POLOVINA MILO R (US) Applicant: CELOX LAB INC (US)
EC: A01N1/02; A61K35/14 IPC: C12N5/06; A01N1/02; A61K35/14 (+6)
Publication info: AT253818T T - 2003-11-15
2 Cryopreservation solution in my patents list
Inventor: POLOVINA MILO R Applicant: CELOX LAB INC
EC: A01N1/02; A61K35/14 IPC: C12N5/06; A01N1/02; A61K35/14 (+6)
Publication info: AU693339B B2 - 1998-06-25
3 Cryopreservation solution in my patents list
Inventor: POLOVINA MILO R Applicant: CELOX CORP
EC: A01N1/02; A61K35/14 IPC: C12N5/06; A01N1/02; A61K35/14 (+6)
Publication info: AU5186996 A - 1996-09-23
4 Cryopreservation solution in my patents list
Inventor: POLOVINA MILO R Applicant: CELOX LAB INC (US)
EC: A01N1/02; A61K35/14 IPC: C12N5/06; A01N1/02; A61K35/14 (+6)
Publication info: BR9607147 A - 1997-11-25
5 CRYOPRESERVATION SOLUTION in my patents list
Inventor: POLOVINA MILO R (US) Applicant: CELOX LAB INC (US)
EC: A01N1/02; A61K35/14 IPC: C12N5/06; A01N1/02; A61K35/14 (+6)
Publication info: CA2214280 A1 - 1996-09-12
CA2214280 C - 2001-01-02
6 Cryopreservation solution in my patents list
Inventor: POLOVINA R (US) Applicant: CELOX LAB INC (US)
EC: A01N1/02; A61K35/14 IPC: C12N5/06; A01N1/02; A61K35/14 (+6)
Publication info: DE69630679D D1 - 2003-12-18
7 Cryopreservation solution in my patents list
Inventor: POLOVINA R (US) Applicant: PROTIDE PHARMACEUTICALS INC (US)
EC: A01N1/02; A61K35/14 IPC: C12N5/06; A01N1/02; A61K35/14 (+6)
Publication info: DE69630679T T2 - 2004-10-21
8 CRYOPRESERVATION SOLUTION in my patents list
Inventor: POLOVINA MILO R (US) Applicant: CELOX LAB INC (US)
EC: A01N1/02; A61K35/14 IPC: C12N5/06; A01N1/02; A61K35/14 (+6)
Publication info: EP0813361 A1 - 1997-12-29
EP0813361 A4 - 2000-01-05
EP0813361 B1 - 2003-11-12
9 Cryopreservation solution in my patents list
Inventor: POLOVINA MILO R (US) Applicant: PROTIDE PHARMACEUTICALS INC
EC: A01N1/02; A61K35/14 IPC: C12N5/06; A01N1/02; A61K35/14 (+6)
Publication info: ES2210352T T3 - 2004-07-01
10 Cryopreservation solution in my patents list
Inventor: Applicant:
EC: A01N1/02; A61K35/14 IPC: C12N5/06; A01N1/02; A61K35/14 (+5)
Publication info: JP3165863B2 B2 - 2001-05-14
JP10511402T T - 1998-11-04
11 Cryopreservation solution in my patents list
Inventor: POLOVINA MILO R (US) Applicant: CELOX LAB INC (US)
EC: A01N1/02; A61K35/14 IPC: C12N5/06; A01N1/02; A61K35/14 (+4)
Publication info: NO974108 A - 1997-11-06
NO974108D D0 - 1997-09-05
12 CRYOPRESERVATION SOLUTION FOR CELLS CONTAINING GLYCEROL, ALKALI METAL CHLORIDE SALT, MONOSACCHARIDE AND SERUM ALBUMIN in my patents list
Inventor: POLOVINA MILO R Applicant: CELOX LAB INC
EC: A01N1/02; A61K35/14 IPC: C12N5/06; A01N1/02; A61K35/14 (+6)
Publication info: NZ304628 A - 1998-09-24
13 CONCENTRATED SOLUTION FOR CRYOGENIC STORAGE (VERSIONS), METHOD FOR CRYOGENIC STORAGE OF CELLS (VERSIONS), METHOD FOR CRYOGENIC STORAGE AND REGENERATION OF VIABLE CELLS, AND METHOD FOR CRYOGENIC STORAGE, REGENERATION AND THERAPEUTIC UTILIZATION OF CEL... in my patents list
Inventor: MILO R POLOVINA (US) Applicant: SELOKS LAB INK (US)
EC: A01N1/02; A61K35/14 IPC: C12N5/06; A01N1/02; A61K35/14 (+6)
Publication info: RU2146088 C1 - 2000-03-10
14 Cryopreservation solution in my patents list
Inventor: POLOVINA MILO R (US) Applicant: CELOX LAB INC (US)
EC: A01N1/02; A61K35/14 IPC: C12N5/06; A01N1/02; A61K35/14 (+7)
Publication info: US5580714 A - 1996-12-03
15 Cryopreservation solution in my patents list
Inventor: POLOVINA MILO R (US) Applicant: CELOX LAB INC (US)
EC: A01N1/02; A61K35/14 IPC: C12N5/06; A01N1/02; A61K35/14 (+7)
Publication info: US5759764 A - 1998-06-02
16 CRYOPRESERVATION SOLUTION in my patents list
Inventor: POLOVINA MILO R Applicant: CELOX LAB INC (US)
EC: A01N1/02; A61K35/14 IPC: C12N5/06; A01N1/02; A61K35/14 (+6)
Publication info: WO9627287 A1 - 1996-09-12
Cancer patients grow new livers with stem cells
by MARTIN HALLE - More by this author »
Last updated at 08:50am on 27th March 2007
Patients suffering from advanced liver cancer have been able to grow new livers using a revolutionary stem cell technique.
Two years after the pioneering surgery, six out of the eight patients are still alive and cancerfree, with fully-functioning livers.
The technology, developed by scientists in Germany, could result in the lives of hundreds of liver cancer patients being saved.
The liver is capable of regenerating and compensating for parts that have become diseased, but at least 60 per cent of the liver must be healthy for a patient to survive while the liver regenerates.
Unfortunately, liver cancer can be difficult to detect and patients frequently have advanced disease when diagnosed.
Radiotherapy is not very effective in liver cancer and chemotherapy is often used to try to slow the spread of advanced disease. There are around 4,000 new cases of liver cancer each year and 1,700 deaths.
The new approach uses bone stem cells taken from the patient's hip.
Research has shown that this type of stem cell is capable of turning into liver cells.
Surgeons at the University of Dusseldorf took stem cells from the hips of cancer patients and injected these into the healthy, non-cancerous part of the liver in the hope that it would grow, eventually allowing the diseased part to be removed.
All the patients in the trial had just 20 per cent of healthy liver left, so it was not possible to remove the diseased part without an alternative.
Using heat, the surgeons blocked the blood supply to the diseased part of the liver and diverted the blood to the remaining healthy part. This had the effect of speeding up the growth of new liver cells.
At the same time, they took stem cells from the patient's hip and injected them into the same blood supply.
Five weeks after the stem cell transplantation, most patients' livers had more than doubled in size. This allowed surgeons to remove the part of the liver containing the tumour.
Jan Schulte Am Esch, the surgeon in charge of the trial, said the results were better than expected.
"We knew that we could take stem cells from the hip and that they would turn into liver cells because we had done this in the laboratory, but we were not sure whether the cells would take when we came to do the same in a patient.
"These were patients with advanced liver disease for whom there was no real hope. We were involved in a race against time to ensure that the tumour didn't spread to the good part of the liver or else we would not be able to help them."
Professor Gunther Furst, who helped lead the trial, says the team were amazed at how quickly the liver regenerated when it was given an infusion of stem cells.
"What we have shown is that there is an alternative to transplantation of the liver. We've also demonstrated that in the short term you save the life of a terminally ill cancer patient for whom previously there was no hope."
Specialists are now assessing whether the technique could be used to help repair the diseased livers of alcoholics or people struck down by fatty liver disease (a condition caused by obesity).
Mr Schulte Am Esch is planning to carry out largerscale trials. "We hope that in the not too distant future this will become a standard way of helping patients re-grow their livers," he says.
Professor Nagy Habib, a liver consultant at London's Hammersmith Hospital, has also been researching the use of bone marrow stem cells.
He says: "It is excellent work. Bone marrow-derived cells have the ability to get the liver to regrow. We are conducting the same work at the Hammersmith."
Stem cells may help hearts heal in future
By Fred Tasker
McClatchy Newspapers
(MCT)
MIAMI - Promising early results in a small study led by a University of Miami medical researcher have him optimistic that adult stem cells injected into the veins of heart attack victims might help heal their hearts.
The study, the first clinical trial using such stem cells, was led by Dr. Joshua Hare, professor of medicine and director of the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute at the University of Miami School of Medicine.
"A lot of things would have to go very well," said Hare. "But we have confidence we're onto something."
Colleagues in Hare's field expressed hope, but also caution.
"The results look encouraging, but one always has to be careful of small trials that show big differences," said Bernard J. Gersh, professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, Minn. "Often when you have a larger trial you don't see those differences."
The six-month study included 53 patients in 10 hospitals including the University of Miami, Johns Hopkins University, the Minnesota Heart Institute and Columbia Presbyterian in New York City. It was funded by Osiris Therapeutics of Baltimore, which provided the cells. Hare said the study will be published in a peer-reviewed medical journal within weeks or months.
The study is part of a Phase I clinical trial; Phases II and III are needed over a few years before earning FDA approval.
In the study, bone marrow was taken from healthy adults, and "mesenchymal," or immature stem cells were extracted from it. The cells were injected into the patients' veins, he said.
"This is the first clinical trial with mesenchymal cells," said Gersh. "They are more primitive, more immature. They have greater potential to develop into cardiac muscle than more mature stem cells."
The process does not destroy embryos, so it avoids that controversy, he said.
The cells, responding to chemical signals from heart tissue damaged by the heart attacks, migrated to those sites in the heart, he said.
"We're not entirely sure how that works," Hare said.
In earlier animal trials, Hare said, necropsies (animal autopsies) showed that the stem cells stimulated the heart to grow new, healthy tissue to replace tissue that died in the heart attack. In the human trial, patients over the next six months had fewer irregular heartbeats and improvements in heart, lung and overall function, Hare said.
---
Adult Stem Cells Help Heart Attack Patients
By Carol Pearson
Washington
27 March 2007
It is being hailed as a major medical breakthrough: cardiologists are using adult stem cells, not the controversial embryonic stem cells, to rejuvenate the hearts of patients who have suffered heart attacks or whose hearts are not working properly.
VOA's Carol Pearson tells us about two studies reported at the American College of Cardiology conference that show promise for heart patients.
Joe Gasser is back on a treadmill after suffering a heart attack that left him with a grim prognosis and a weakened heart. He was one of 23 patients who had stem cells injected into his ailing heart in hopes of healing it. "It's a second chance," he says.
Researchers took the cells from muscles in the patients' own legs. Then they grew the cells in a laboratory before injecting them in the patients' hearts – without surgery or anesthesia.
The study was led by cardiologist Dr. Nabil Dib. He looks at an image of the heart of one of his patients. In the image on the left, black spots show where the stem cells were injected. The red spot is an area of dead tissue.
The other image shows the same heart six months later. The damaged tissue is gone, replaced by healthy tissue. Dr. Dib says, "A patient who has no hope today will have hope in the future."
In another study, researchers took stem cells from donors, not the patients, and infused them intravenously into the patients' hearts within ten days of a heart attack.
Fifty-three patients got the stem cell therapy. Others did not.
Dr. Josua Hare at the University of Miami School of Medicine led the study and explains, "The patients getting the cells were doing better. Their heart function was better and their breathing was better as well."
Experts caution that these studies need to be repeated in larger groups to confirm the results. Joe Gasser says he is proof of the outcome. "I have lots of energy. I feed good. Nothing holds me back."
_________
go here for pictures of the heart:
http://www.voanews.com/english/images/Red-area-dead-tissue-6month.jpg
Stem Cells Speed Growth Of Healthy Liver Tissue
05:31 PM, March 27th 2007
by Mihai Alexandru
For the first time, researchers have used adult bone marrow stem cells to regenerate healthy human liver tissue, according to a study published in the April issue of the journal Radiology.
When large, fast-growing cancers invade the liver, some patients are unable to undergo surgery, because removing the cancerous tissue would leave too little liver to support the body.
Researchers at Heinrich-Heine-University in Düsseldorf, Germany, used adult bone marrow stem cells to help quickly regenerate healthy liver tissue, enabling patients to eventually undergo a surgical resection.
“Our study suggests that liver stem cells harvested from the patient’s own bone marrow can further augment and accelerate the liver’s natural capacity to regenerate itself,” said Günther Fürst, M.D., co-author and professor of radiology.
In the study, researchers compared the results of portal vein embolization (PVE), a technique currently used to help regenerate liver tissue, to a combination of PVE and an injection of bone marrow stem cells into the liver.
PVE blocks blood flow to the diseased portion of the liver and diverts blood to the organ’s healthy tissue, promoting liver growth. Bone marrow stem cells extracted from the patient’s hip bone and injected into the liver also help the liver regenerate.
The study included 13 patients with large central liver malignancies who were unable to undergo surgery because resection would leave less than 25 percent of their total liver volume.
Six of the patients underwent both PVE and injection of bone marrow stem cells. Seven patients underwent only PVE. Computed tomography (CT) scans were performed before and up to five weeks after PVE to determine the degree of liver growth.
Patients who received the combination of PVE and stem cell injection had double the liver growth rate and gain in liver volume, compared with those who underwent PVE alone. As a result, the patients who received the combined treatment were able to undergo surgery an average of 18 days sooner than patients who received PVE only.
“Our research demonstrates that stem cells are a powerful adjunct to PVE for patients undergoing surgical resection,” said Jan Schulte am Esch, M.D., co-author and surgery staff member. “Based on our results, we also believe that adult stem cell administration may be a promising therapy for regenerating livers damaged by other chronic and acute diseases.”
The researchers are currently embarking on a randomized controlled trial of the therapy.
added 5k this a.m. at the ask
Lazarus
Stem cell research bill advances
By Kate Clements
Friday, March 2, 2007 7:21 AM CST
E-mail Story Printer-friendly
SPRINGFIELD – Illinois took another big step toward public funding for all types of stem cell research on Thursday, but it was not without controversy.
The House approved HB138 on a vote of 67 to 46, sending it over to the Senate, where it is expected to pass as well. Last week, the Senate approved a nearly identical bill on a vote of 35 to 23.
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Stem cells are valuable because they can divide and morph into any kind of cell in the human body. Supporters say such research could provide treatment or cures for a wide variety of diseases, from diabetes and cancer to Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.
"This is an opportunity to find not only cures for those diseases, but also hopefully a way to prevent those diseases," said House Republican Leader Tom Cross, R-Oswego, the bill's chief sponsor. Cross has a daughter with juvenile diabetes and has been a strong supporter of state funding for all types of stem cell research, but not everyone in his party agrees.
State Rep. David Reis, R-Willow Hill, said he supports research involving adult stem cells, amniotic stem cells or stem cells from umbilical cord blood, but objects to embryonic stem cell research because fertilized eggs are destroyed in the process.
"There's a lot of us who are against this type of research," Reis said. "We feel that if this is not wrong, then nothing is wrong. � Just a week or so ago, Chief Illiniwek danced his last dance at the (University of Illinois), and this was all brought about because a few people said that it was offensive. They literally brought this 81-year tradition to its knees because they felt it was offensive. Frankly I can't imagine, in any sense of the imagination, the Chief being more offensive than the public funding of research that sacrifices one life for the false hope of saving another."
The state is already funding such research under an executive order from Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who grew frustrated when the General Assembly failed to pass similar bills in recent years. Last year, the governor distributed $15 million to stem cell researchers at the UI and other institutions around the state.
While they do not contain a specific dollar amount, HB138 and SB4 would codify the governor's Illinois Regenerative Medicine grant program, specifically ban cloning, and set up strong disclosure and conflict-of-interest provisions.
Blagojevich could propose funding for the program in his budget address next Wednesday.
State Sen. Mike Frerichs, D-Gifford, said such funding could certainly benefit the UI.
"I think there is a lot of money that can come into the University of Illinois for stem cell research," he stated in a written release. "If the state makes this commitment to the university, you will also see private research money coming in, too."
In other action on Thursday:
– The House voted unanimously to allow parents to have free online access to their teenager's driving records. HB518 would allow parents and guardians to view the records up until the driver turns 18.
"We want to make sure parents are fully involved with their teen as they go through the Graduated Driver's Licensing process," said a statement from Secretary of State Jesse White. "By giving adults access to their child's driving record, we are giving them a tool to observe their teenagers' driving patterns as they proceed through the program."
The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration.
– A House panel approved legislation to roll back the electricity rate hikes that took effect earlier this year and extend the decade-long rate freeze that expired on Jan. 1. The full House is expected to approve the measure quickly, but that won't do any good unless the Senate passes it, too. That still appears unlikely, but Rep. Naomi Jakobsson, D-Urbana, said she was optimistic.
"I think the tide is starting to turn, now that so many customers are seeing just how much their bills have skyrocketed over the last month," she said.
A Senate committee hearing on a bill that would have offered a temporary rate freeze for Ameren customers, but not those served by Commonwealth Edison, was postponed on Thursday. Senate President Emil Jones, D-Chicago, opposes a rate freeze, but Frerichs and other Senate Democrats are calling for one anyway.
– State Sen. Dale Righter, R-Mattoon, won committee approval for his SB206, which would slowly increase state support for county fairs. According to state law, county fairs are supposed to be funded at 66.6 percent of the premiums paid out to fair participants, but the state appropriation has not kept pace with rising costs, and now equals only about 40 percent of premiums, Righter said.
"This is a matter of fairly and properly funding an important part of our downstate heritage, as well as the state keeping its commitment," he said.
The bill now heads to the full Senate for a vote.
– The Senate higher education committee unanimously approved legislation to give $1,000 scholarships to any designated Illinois State Scholar who decides to attend an in-state public university.
Illinois State Scholars are students who rank in the top 10 percent of the state's high school seniors, but the honor only comes with a certificate of achievement. The Illinois Student Assistance Commission honored 17,093 Illinois State Scholars for 2007, which would cost nearly $17.1 million. But the bill's sponsor, state Sen. Ed Maloney, D-Chicago, said the cost would be less because only about half the students end up going to state schools.
Maloney said out of state schools are already courting Illinois' "best and brightest," and the scholarships would demonstrate that their home state wants them, too.
The state must appropriate the necessary money or the scholarships cannot happen, even if Maloney's SB437 makes it into law. Righter noted that Illinois already has a merit scholarship program on the books, but it has not been funded since the 2004-2005 school year.
Will be adding to my position here on any dips.
your welcome...
fwiw ... it appears that one of PPMDs larger shareholders is throwing in the towel. im looking to see where the selling dries up.
oddly ... there was a similar situation with CDLA several years ago. one of the larger shareholders wanted out. a market maker who knew i was accumulating called me and asked me if i wanted to by the shares at X price. i said no.... which forced them to dump on the open market and drove the stock down to around 6 cents. i picked up some of those shares on the dump under a dime and another block later at 15 cents. shortly thereafter CDLA began to turn around. 2005 sales were over 20 million with around 20 cents per share in earnings. havent seen 2006 yet but judging from todays print of $1.25 i suspect they look very good.
Lazarus
Thanks for forwarding this post.
Cryo-Cell International, Inc. Reports Results for Fiscal 2006
OLDSMAR, Fla., Feb. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cryo-Cell International, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: CCEL) (the "Company"), one of the world's largest and most established family cord blood banks, today announced fiscal 2006 financial results. Consolidated revenues for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2006 were approximately $17.2 million, up 19% from approximately $14.5 million for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2005. The revenue increase was primarily attributable to the successful repositioning of the core U-Cord(R) service and its associated price increase in December 2005 for newly enrolled clients, as well as an overall increase in the customer base over the prior year.
The Company reported a net loss in fiscal 2006 of approximately ($2.8 million), or ($0.24) per basic common share, compared to net income of approximately $1.0 million, or $0.09 per basic common share, in fiscal 2005. The net loss in fiscal 2006 is in part the result of a 46% increase in cost of sales and a 42% increase in marketing, general and administrative expenses in fiscal 2006 over fiscal 2005, partially offset by the 19% increase in revenue. In addition, the net loss consisted of certain expenses in 2006 including approximately $1.0 million for corporate re-branding and strategic corporate development; approximately $486,000 in research and development expenses relating to the Company's development expenses of proprietary technology to collect, process and cryogenically preserve Plureon(R) Stem Cells (PSCs) collected from placenta; and the effect of an investment that was deemed permanently impaired and recorded as an impairment of assets in the amount of approximately $147,000.
The increase in cost of sales in fiscal 2006 was due to an increase in laboratory supplies and cord blood collection reimbursements, as well as the expenses associated with the Company's introduction of U-Cord(R) service enhancements and increased expenses for client acquisition. The enhancements include return shipping by a medical courier for all new U.S. customers. The increase in expenses for lab supplies was due to the Company's April 2005 implementation of a new processing methodology in accordance with newly established standards of the AABB. The new process utilizes closed-systems bags in place of vial storage. The increase in marketing, general and administrative expenses reflects the Company's decision to enhance existing production procedures and quality systems. It also reflects the previously announced strategic initiatives to increase market share and achieve unit growth by strengthening the resources allocated to sales and marketing. This resulted in increased expenses for consumer advertising and increased expenditures related to corporate re-branding.
The Company recognized approximately $927,000 in licensee income for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2006, compared to approximately $613,000 for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2005. Licensee income for the twelve months ended November 30, 2006 included approximately $149,000 of non- recurring income recognized on the payment of the second installment for the India license agreement. The remaining $778,000 represents royalty income from license agreements outside the United States and the sale of sublicense agreements.
For the three-month period ended November 30, 2006, the Company's revenues were approximately $4.4 million, compared to approximately $3.8 million for the three-month period ended November 30, 2005. The 16% revenue increase over the same 2005 period is primarily attributable to the effects of the previously described price increase for newly enrolling clients, as well as the overall increase in customer base over the prior year.
The Company reported a net loss for the three-month period ended November 30, 2006 of approximately ($927,000), or ($0.08) per common share-basic, compared to net income of approximately $142,000, or $0.01 per common share- basic, for the three-month period ended November 30, 2005. The net loss in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006 is attributable in part to a 45% increase in cost of sales and a 35% increase in marketing, general and administrative expenses in the 2006 period versus the 2005 period, partially offset by the 16% increase in revenue.
The Company recognized approximately $292,000 in licensee income for the three months ended November 30, 2006, compared to approximately $255,000 for the three months ended November 30, 2005, an increase of 14% for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006 versus the fourth quarter of fiscal 2005.
As of November 30, 2006, the Company had approximately $8.5 million in available cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities and other investments, and no long-term debt.
"Following nine consecutive quarters of profitability that extended from Q104 through Q106, the Company embarked on the next phase of our long-term strategic plan with keen focus on repositioning the U-Cord(R) service; expanding services and investing in growth of the business", stated Mercedes Walton, Chairman and CEO. "We continue to believe that the near-term impact of our strategic growth initiatives on 2006 quarterly earnings will be offset over time by increased revenues from a superior-quality core product and enhanced market positioning. Looking ahead, Cryo-Cell is particularly excited about the prospect of leveraging our enhanced market position along with potential product portfolio diversification in 2007. We anticipate that expanded service may significantly advance the Company's position as the differentiated industry leader in innovative stem cell solutions. "
"We believe that Cryo-Cell's enhanced U-Cord(R) offering implemented in Q106 provides consumers with the highest accredited quality; most innovative and superior-value cord blood service available in today's market. We also believe that Cryo-Cell's demonstrated history of sustainable profitability along with the Company's positive cash flow performance may combine with the longer-term benefits of our 2006 growth initiatives to reflect Cryo-Cell's potential to achieve higher levels of success moving forward." Ms. Walton continued, "During 2007, Cryo-Cell expects to fully leverage our solid competitive position and advanced strategic and operational platform to deliver increased shareholder value in the coming periods."
The Company is encouraged by emerging public interest and awareness in newly emerging stem cells among both consumers and practitioners and believes potential related new service offerings may create advantages for Cryo-Cell to achieve sustainable market differentiation in the private family cord blood banking industry.
About Cryo-Cell International, Inc.
Based in Oldsmar, Florida, with over 135,000 clients worldwide, Cryo-Cell is one of the largest and most established family cord blood banks. ISO 9001:2000 certified and accredited by the AABB, Cryo-Cell operates in a state- of-the-art Good Manufacturing Practice and Good Tissue Practice (cGMP/cGTP)- compliant facility. Cryo-Cell is a publicly traded company. OTC Bulletin Board Symbol: CCEL. Expectant parents or healthcare professionals may call 1-800-STOR-CELL (1-800-786-7235) or visit www.cryo-cell.com.
Forward-Looking Statement
Statements wherein the terms "believes", "intends", "projects" or "expects" as used are intended to reflect "forward-looking statements" of the Company. The information contained herein is subject to various risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results anticipated in such forward-looking statements or paragraphs, many of which are outside the control of the Company. These uncertainties and other factors include the uncertainty of market acceptance of our proposed service offering relating to placental stem cells and any potential service offerings relating to other types of stem cells, given that placental stem cells and such other new stem cells have not yet been used in human therapies, and treatment applications using such stem cells are subject to further research; need to complete certain developments, including completion of clinical validation and testing for commercialization of the process and the Company's development of its final business and economic model in offering this service; the possibility of unanticipated costs relating to the commercial launch of the placental stem cell service offering; any adverse effect or limitations caused by recent increases in government regulation of stem cell storage facilities; any increased competition in our business; any decrease or slowdown in the number of people seeking to store umbilical cord blood stem cells or decrease in the number of people paying annual storage fees; any adverse impacts on our revenue or operating margins due to the costs associated with increased growth in our business, including the possibility of unanticipated costs relating to the operation of our new facility; any technological breakthrough or medical breakthrough that would render the Company's business of stem cell preservation obsolete; any material failure or malfunction in our storage facilities; any natural disaster such as a tornado, other disaster (fire) or act of terrorism that adversely affects stored specimens; the costs associated with defending or prosecuting litigation matters and any material adverse result from such matters; decreases in asset valuations; any continued negative effect from adverse publicity in the past year regarding the Company's business operations; any negative consequences resulting from deriving, shipping and storing specimens at a second location; and other risks and uncertainties. The foregoing list is not exhaustive, and the Company disclaims any obligations to subsequently revise any forward- looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements. Readers should carefully review the risk factors described in other documents the Company files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the most recent Annual Report on Form 10-KSB, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-QSB and any Current Reports on Form 8-K filed by the Company.
__________________________________________
BLFS AND CCEL both reporting significant increase in product sales. i am persuaded in my own mind that PPMDs sales of product have increased as well.
Lazarus
Investing in Stem Cell Stocks: Growth Industry of the Future?
Stockerblog submits: Last Friday, the state of California distributed $45 million in research grants to approximately 20 state universities and nonprofit laboratories for stem cell research.
Four other states, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, and New Jersey, are also funding stem cell research. California is contributing almost twice as much as the Federal government towards research. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California, said "Today, we are making history."
According to StemCellsStocks.com, the research into stem cells involves finding out how an organism develops from a single cell and how healthy cells replace damaged ones. This research can lead to cell-based therapies to treat various diseases.
The difference between stem cells and other cells is that they renew themselves for long periods of time from cell division and they can be made to become cells with special functions. Embryonic stem cells, as opposed to adult stem cells, are isolated stem cells from human embryos that are grown in labs. The embryos used in this research were produced for infertility purposes through in vitro fertilization and later donated for research with the donor’s consent. Research is being done to treat diseases such as Parkinson's disease, diabetes, and heart disease.
There are only a limited number of stocks which are pure plays or semi-pure plays in the stem cell industry. However, if governmental funding increases, if private research continues, and if there are any major breakthroughs, this could be a very huge industry. The following list also includes cord blood stocks, a related industry.
Aastrom Biosciences (ASTM): This Michigan based company is involved in the development of cell products for the regeneration or repair of human tissues, based on its proprietary Tissue Repair Cell [TRC] technology. Negative earnings, price/sales ratio is 211.
Advanced Cell Technology (ACTC.OB): This company is involved in the development and marketing of human stem cell technology in the area of regenerative medicine and stem cell therapy. Negative earnings, P/S is 64.
Alexion Pharmaceuticals (ALXN): This Connecticut based company is involved in the development of biologic therapeutic products for the treatment of hematologic and cardiovascular disorders, autoimmune diseases, and cancer. Negative earnings, P/S is 864.
ARIAD Pharmaceuticals (ARIA): This Massachusetts company is involved in the development of medicines for the treatment of cancer by regulating cell signaling with small molecules. Their cancer products are used to treat sarcomas, hormone refractory prostate cancer, and endometrial cancer. Negative earnings, P/S is 367.
AVI Biopharma (AVII): The Oregon based company is involved in the development of therapeutic products based on NEUGENE antisense technology to treat various diseases. Negative earnings, P/S is 100.
BioTransplant [BTRNQ.PK]: This company is involved in the development of therapeutics, therapeutic devices, and therapeutic regimens designed to suppress undesired immune responses, and enhance the body’s ability to accept donor cells, tissues, organs, and stem cell transplants. Negative earnings, P/S is .6.
Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics [BCLI.OB]: This New York based company develops stem cell therapeutic products based on technologies which facilitate the in vitro differentiation of bone marrow stem cells from neural-like cells. They use bone marrow stem cells to produce neuron-like cells for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, and other diseases. No earnings, no revenues.
Celera Group (CRA): This NYSE company, founded in 1937, is involved in the discovery and validation of new diagnostic markers, using proprietary genomics and proteomics discovery platforms and diagnostic products based on those markers. They collaborate with Abbott Laboratories (ABT), Genentech (DNA), General Electric (GE) and Merck (MRK). Negative earnings, P/S is 24.
Cellgene (CELG): This New Jersey company is involved in the discovery, production, and marketing of therapies designed to treat cancer and immune-inflammatory-related diseases. Their primary product includes THALOMID, for the treatment of erythema nodosum leprosum. Last year, the company received patent on placental stem cell recovery. P/E is 316, P/S is 21.
Cord Blood America [CBAI.OB]: This Los Angeles company is involved in the collection, testing, processing, and preservation of the blood from umbilical cords for use in future stem cell therapy. Negative earnings, P/S is 1.7.
Cryo-Cell International (CCEL.OB): This is a Florida based family cord blood stem cell bank. P/S is 1.7.
Curis, Inc. (CRIS): This Massachusetts based company is involved in the discovery, development, and marketing of products that modulate key regulatory signaling pathways which control the repair and regeneration of human tissues and organs. It collaborates with Genentech, Procter & Gamble (PG), and Wyeth (WYE). Negative earnings, P/S is 4.9.
Dendreon Corporation (DNDN): This company is involved in the discovery, development, and marketing of active immunotherapies, monoclonal antibodies, and small molecule product candidates to treat cancer. They manufacture the DACSÒSC stem cell enrichment device. Negative earnings, very high P/S of 1500.
Geron (GERN): This Menlo Park, California company develops cell-based therapies derived from human embryonic stem cell platforms for treatment of various diseases. Negative earnings, P/S is 186.
Integra Lifesciences Holdings (IART) This New Jersey company develops, manufactures, and sells medical devices, implants, biomaterials, and instruments to the neurosurgery, surgery, and soft tissue repair markets. P/E 45, P/S 3.4.
Invitrogen Corporation (IVGN): This California company sells products and services which support academic and government research institutions, pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology companies, including tools for gene acquisition, gene cloning, gene expression, and gene analysis techniques. Negative earnings, P/S is 2.6.
LifeCell Corporation (LIFC): This New Jersey company develops and sells human-derived tissue-based products for use in reconstructive, orthopedic, and urogynecologic surgery. They produce a three-dimensional structured regenerative human tissue matrix. P/E 45, P/S 6.3.
MedImmune (MEDI): This Maryland company develops, manufactures, and markets products for the treatment of infectious diseases, inflammatory diseases, and cancer. P/E 167, P/S 6.2.
MultiCell Technologies [MCET.OB]: The company develops and markets therapeutics based on new drug candidates and patented drug development technology platforms to treat MS-related chronic fatigue, infectious disease, cancer, and autoimmune disease. They also produce immortalized human hepatocyte cell lines. Negative earnings, P/S is 11.2.
Osteotech (OSTE): This New Jersey company processes and distributes allograft bone tissue used for transplants. P/S is 1.3.
Opexa Therapeutics, Inc. (OPXA): This company, based in Texas, develops and markets autologous cellular therapies for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes, based on stem cell technologies. No revenues, no earnings.
StemCells Inc. (STEM): This Palo Alto company is involved in the discovery and development of adult stem cell therapeutics for treating damage to the central nervous system, liver, and pancreas. Negative earnings, P/S is a high 1771.
ThermoGenesis (KOOL): This California company designs, manufactures, and markets automated blood processing systems that facilitate the manufacture, preservation, and delivery of cell therapies. P/S 13.6.
ViaCell (VIAC): This Massachusetts company sells ViaCord, a product which is used to preserve a baby's umbilical cord blood. They also research other therapeutic uses of umbilical cord blood-derived and adult-derived stem cells. Negative earnings, P/S is 3.9.
Stem cell technique helps women grow their own implants
Last updated at 08:53am on 12th February 2007
Scientists harvested the stem cells from the women's own fat and encouraged them to form breast tissue.
They say the result gives a more natural look than many of the synthetic implants used by showbusiness stars like Pamela Anderson.
The Japanese teams have carried out trials on dozens of women and say they have had no problems.
They say the treatment will be routinely available from plastic surgeons within five years.
British surgeons said yesterday they were convinced by the technique and found it "appealing".
Stem cells can turn into different tissues in the body and this technique involves taking them from fat.
Dr Kotaro Yoshimura of the University of Tokyo and his team then mix these with general fat cells and inject them back into patients' breasts.
The hope is the stem cells will lead to the formation of new fat cells and coax blood vessels to grow into new breast tissue and nurture it.
The technique was first used in 2004 and since another 38 women have been treated without any major side effects.
The long-term effectiveness has not yet been demonstrated fully, however, and further tests are needed.
To date the technique can boost breast size by only half as much as existing synthetic implants, and slender patients may not have enough fat to spare.
However Dr Yoshimura believes the effect is more natural-looking and should avoid any problems such as the leaking which occurred with older silicone implants.
Doctors can already use fat to create "natural implants", but they can shrink over time because of a lack of blood supply.
The new technique aims to overcome this problem.
Dr Yoshimura said: "I believe that within five years my procedure will be available as plastic surgery and that it will prove very popular."
Similar work is being carried out in the U.S. Dr Jeremy Mao told the American Association for the Advancement of Science conference in Washington in 2005 that using stem cells could eliminate the need for extra surgery and produce long-lasting and more shapely implants.
In his tests, scientists at the University of Illinois turned stem cells into fatproducing, or adipose, cells which were put into plastic moulds to create different shapes and sizes of implants.
These were grown in the laboratory and then placed under the skin of laboratory mice.
They were removed four weeks later and found to be still the same shape and size.
Some British plastic surgeons have expressed an interest in using the new technique.
Venkat Ramakrishnan, a specialist in plastic and reconstructive surgery at Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust said: "I'm newly convinced.
"A lot more people have to use it and prove it, but it does seem to have something to it."
Eva Weller-Mithoff, a consultant at Canniesburn Hospital in Glasgow, said the technique could be particularly beneficial to cancer patients who have a mastectomy.
"The most distressing effect of radiotherapy is that the blood vessels shrivel up," she said. "Stem cells can differentiate into new blood vessels which could mean that more fat cells will survive."
Assemblyman pushes for more public banking of cord blood
Anthony Portantino (D-La Cañada Flintridge) wants to make it easier to donate in California.
By Nancy Vogel, Times Staff Writer
February 12, 2007
SACRAMENTO — When Anthony Portantino and his wife had their daughter Bella five years ago, they wanted to donate blood from the umbilical cord.
But their hospital was not one of the two in California that routinely collect cord blood for use in treatment of diseases such as leukemia.
"I had to do all the work," said Portantino. "I had to get the kit, I had to call the hospital. I had to see if the doctor was willing to harvest it…. I had to pack it in ice and I had to call the stem cell place to come pick it up off my porch packed in ice. I said to myself at the time … 'Why aren't we making this more easy to do? Because this saves lives.' "
So on his first day as a state assemblyman in December, the Democrat and former filmmaker from La Cañada Flintridge launched an effort to expand cord blood collection for public use in California. His proposals would create a pilot project at five California hospitals and convene an advisory council to study ways to boost public banking of cord blood.
Most umbilical cords from the 4 million babies born in the United States each year are discarded as medical waste. But cord blood transfusions have increasingly become an alternative to bone marrow transplants in treating leukemia, lymphoma and other disorders of the blood and immune system.
Like bone marrow, umbilical cord blood contains stem cells that can develop into blood-producing cells that in turn can replace the recipient's diseased cells.
"It's almost like a hermit crab looking for a home in this new shell that it finds," said Meghan Serwin Flanz, a government lawyer who was a neighbor of Portantino when her son Jordy fell ill with leukemia.
No bone marrow match could be found for Jordy, and he was near death at age 6 when he received roughly three tablespoons of donated cord blood from a New York collection center. That 1996 transfusion was the first such procedure performed for a pediatric cancer patient at UCLA Medical Center.
The new cells helped rebuild Jordy's ravaged immune system, his mother said, and today he is a healthy high school student in Virginia who aspires to be a filmmaker.
Because cord blood cells are less specialized than bone marrow cells, they don't have to be so closely matched between donor and recipient. And they carry less risk of rejection by the recipient's body.
Also, unlike the collection of stem cells from embryos, taking stem cells from cord blood involves no ethical controversy. An embryo must be destroyed for the harvest of stem cells, but an umbilical cord is easily drained after a baby has been born.
"The whole picture of stem cells is really flowering, and cord blood is an excellent source," said Dr. Robert Jones, president of the New York Blood Center, the nation's largest public cord blood bank. "Research is going to look at cord blood cells for other uses than bone marrow replacement."
Legislators across the country have pushed for more public banking of cord blood. In the last year, Virginia and Rhode Island passed laws creating nonprofit banks for use by their residents, and Arizona, Tennessee, Maryland and Illinois passed laws encouraging public collection of cord blood.
Last year, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill ordering the California Department of Health Services to prepare a brochure for pregnant women on umbilical cord banking. But the new law is contingent upon private donations to pay for the brochure. So far, the sole pledge of $50,000 from a private cord blood banking company is not sufficient to carry out the law, state officials said.
Meanwhile, dozens of private banks have sprung up around the country, offering to store cord blood for a family's personal use at an initial cost of $1,000 to $2,000, plus $100 or more each year in storage fees. The companies say that with future medical breakthroughs, children's own cord blood may be used later to cure them of such diseases as Parkinson's, diabetes and Alzheimer's.
The American Academy of Pediatrics, which encourages public cord blood banking, advises doctors to discourage parents from private banking unless there is a sibling in the family who suffers from blood disease and might benefit from a transfusion from a close relative.
There is no scientific evidence, according to the academy, that one's own cord blood is superior to donated blood in treating disease, and it could contain the same defects that caused the disease.
A bigger, more diverse public bank of cord blood is needed, said Michael Boo, strategic development officer for the National Marrow Donor Program, a federally funded Minneapolis nonprofit group that maintains the world's largest registries of bone marrow donors and stored cord blood units.
There are more than 100,000 cord blood units in several public banks around the country, the biggest of them in New York, said Boo, but only about a third of those units are viable because many are too small or weren't properly screened.
Still, he said, it's not necessary to collect all the cord blood available.
"It's unclear how big of an inventory you need," said Boo. "It costs a lot of money to add units."
In 2005, Congress authorized $79 million for the collection of an additional 79,000 units by public cord blood banks, with a goal of banking 150,000 viable units. So far, $22 million of that has been appropriated, Boo said.
In California, only St. Joseph Hospital of Orange and Citrus Valley Medical Center in West Covina routinely collect cord blood for public banking.
Portantino said he hopes that someday California will have a public bank rich and diverse enough to serve the entire state, and donating cord blood becomes as commonplace as donating whole blood.
"We're throwing it away," he said, "and we have no public policy … to deal with this issue."
Umbilical ‘insurance’
Parents see cord blood storage as biological backstop plan
By Vinnee Tong
Associated Press
NEW YORK – Frances Verter’s first child, Shai, died of cancer before reaching her fifth birthday. When her second and third children were born, Verter decided to collect and store the blood from their umbilical cords, an option increasingly being presented to expecting parents around the nation.
“I decided to bank the cord blood because I knew it could be used for transplants and had experienced firsthand how hard it can be to find a matching donor,” Verter wrote on a Web site that she runs as a guide for parents.
Cord blood is a rich source of stem cells, the building blocks that produce blood and can be transformed into other cell types. The growing number of parents who bank their children’s cord blood believe it is biological insurance.
“I didn’t expect to have another child with cancer, but I wanted to give my children every possible form of health insurance,” wrote Verter, who lives near Brookeville, Md.
Cord blood banks, particularly private ones that allow parents to store it for family members, are a growing industry, hoping to take advantage of legislation to promote cord blood donations. There are now 10 states that have passed laws either encouraging or mandating that physicians inform parents of the option. Another 12 are expected to consider legislation this year.
But public health officials argue the chances that a child or family member will need the blood is minuscule. Instead, they encourage prospective parents to donate cord blood to public banks to make it available to all patients who need it.
So far, more parents have chosen the private banks, which have gathered cord blood from about 500,000 children, according to a spokeswoman for an industry trade group, the Association of Family Cord Blood Banks.
The network of public banks is estimated to have stored more than 250,000 cord blood samples. Public banking has been hindered because it can only be done at select hospitals, mostly in larger metropolitan areas.
The percentage of parents who now opt to store cord blood is estimated to be between 3 percent to 5 percent, leaving a vast untapped population. Given the 4 million births a year in the United States, industry leaders estimate about half those parents have the money and knowledge to understand the benefits of storing cord blood.
“Our biggest competitor is the garbage can,” said Stephen Grant, executive vice president and co-founder of Cord Blood Registry.
Companies charge an initial fee ranging from $1,000 to $2,000, to collect the blood but their revenue comes largely from storage fees that range from $100 to $150 a year.
Medical researchers examining the potential uses of stem cells have fueled much excitement among doctors and the general public. Clinical trials are being conducted for such ailments as diabetes, cardiac repair and nerve regeneration, Grant said.
Public health officials, though, have emphasized the low probability of most families ever needing the cord blood.
The American Academy of Pediatrics statement estimated the chances of a child needing cord blood between one in 1,000 and one in 200,000 and noted the risk that the blood could carry the disease already being treated.
your welcome....
and fwiw - i started buying PCLP after you mentioned it...albeit i think you mentioned it a couple of years ago when it was around 11 or 12 cents and i got my shares on the cheap - some as low as .027. i too am still holding some PCLP.
im also a shareholder of SYTE -- but not from subpenny -- i cant even remember since its been a couple of years now -- i would have to look in brokerage account to actually know.
anyway - i hope you do well with PPMD... along with yours truly :)
Lazarus
I became a member of the PPMD family today. Thanks for the tip Lazarus. Im not a fly by night type. I'll be here as long as it takes. I have no problem holding these types for years.
Held a good bit of PCLP for years and it paid off nicely. Put some of my PCLP profits here. Still holding some PCLP just in case the big spike comes. Also have a bunch of SYTE which is very undervalued imho but wont be by end of 2007 imho. Held SYTE since subpenny and its paid off nicely. ITS A well managed profitable little company growing smartly. This PPMD might be more explosive than any of them if things fall into place. The more i read the more i like. Thanks.
Scientists craft embryonic stem cell ethics rules
By Will Dunham
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New international guidelines on human embryonic stem cell research called for close scrutiny of scientists and clear consent from people donating cells, but did not settle the issue of paying women who donate eggs.
The International Society for Stem Cell Research, the principal scientific group for stem cell scientists, said its 15 pages of rules released on Thursday were meant to establish ground rules for a field stung by a fraud scandal and opposition by some people on moral grounds.
Crafted by researchers, ethicists and legal experts from 14 countries, they are intended to encourage uniform research practices worldwide, but would not be binding.
Advocates call such research the best hope for potential cures for conditions like Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, Parkinson's disease and spinal cord injuries. Since such research requires destruction of days-old embryos, opponents call it immoral.
Critics condemned the new guidelines, published in the journal Science and on the Internet at http://www.isscr.org/.
The guidelines call for special scrutiny by institutions where research takes place, but do not specify a precise form of such oversight. They also require explicit consent from anyone donating cells for such research.
The society failed to reach consensus on whether paying even a modest amount of money to women who donate their eggs for research should be allowed.
The scientific community is still shaken by the revelation that landmark studies on human embryonic stem cells in 2004 and 2005 led by South Korean scientist Hwang Woo-suk were faked.
"We certainly hope that having guidelines like this in place will act to minimize the possibility that such a debacle will occur in the future," the society's president-elect, Dr. George Daley of Childrens Hospital Boston and Harvard University, said in a telephone interview.
The society said the rules embraced "core values" of guidelines recommended in 2005 by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, while differing in some ways.
MASTER CELL
Stem cells are a kind of master cell for the body, capable of transforming into various tissue and cell types. Those taken from days-old embryos are especially malleable but "adult" stem cells found in babies and adults also have shown promise.
Many scientists hope to exploit the unique qualities of those cells to repair tissue damaged by disease or injury.
Critics remained unswayed.
"This is worthless as an ethical guide because it is issued by scientists and entrepreneurs who have dedicated their careers to destructive human cloning and human embryo research and who will profit from the expansion of these abuses," said Richard Doerflinger, an official with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
"It is a recipe guide for how to prepare the chicken, written by the foxes."
Some U.S. lawmakers are seeking to lift limits on federal funding for such research imposed by President George W. Bush, who argues U.S. taxpayers should not pay for studies involving intentional destruction of human embryos.
The guidelines prohibit "reproductive cloning" aimed at producing cloned human babies.
The rules permit the possibility of experiments creating types of chimeras -- animals seeded with human cells -- if they are approved by an institution's stem cell research oversight mechanism.
Daley said the society was mindful the research was controversial. "We wanted to give a sense of transparency, that there were serious ethical discussions going on, that scientists were willing and eager to do the science under a rigorous set of ethically acceptable guidelines," Daley said.
Thanks Lazarus for the information. I am following PPMD closely.
be sure to read this post...
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=16464738
the take a look at biolife solutions last Q
BIOLIFE LOST NEARLY 3 TIMES ITS TOTAL REVENUE WHEREAS PPMD ACTUALLY MADE A PROFIT ON IT LAST REPORTED Q AND I BELIEVE PPMD IS DOING BETTER NOW THAN IT WAS BACK IN 2004.
im adding another 5k at .18 this morning --- no make that 10k
Lazarus
apparently almost no one besides myself has a bullish opinion of this little company.
hhhhhmmmmmm!
Lazarus the lonely
An Easy Cell
By Michael Fragoso
Monday, January 29, 2007
New and uncontroversial methods for gathering stem cells could jump-start a nascent industry.
On January 7th news broke of a study out of the Wake Forrest University School of Medicine demonstrating the potential therapeutic uses of amniotic fluid-derived stem cells (AFS cells). The author of the study, Dr. Anthony Atala, claims that AFS cells—derived from amniotic fluid or placenta—contain the best properties of embryonic stem cells (ESC) without their limitations. For example, AFS cells have much of the plasticity of ESC, but they lack the propensity of ESC to create tumors. Like ESC they are self-replicating, but they have proven relatively easier to manipulate in animal models. Importantly for many (myself included), AFS cells do not require the destruction of human embryos, as AFS cells are a byproduct of pregnancy and natural birth. Given the potential value of this discovery to regenerative therapy—and the manner in which these cells are obtained—an interesting side effect of Atala’s discovery will likely be to spur an industry of stem cell preservation.
To use these cells for therapies, they must be preserved for each patient from the moment of his or her birth. If a fifty-year-old man comes down with diabetes and needs to regenerate his pancreatic cells, an effective way for him to do so would be to use the AFS cells from his birth in the regenerative therapy. Assuming the cell differentiation were to work, his own AFS cells would not cause a hostile immune response. The trouble is: if he is fifty-years old, how is he going to get stem cells he generated in utero? The simplest answer is cryogenic freezing.
Since the 1988 discovery of stem cells in umbilical cord blood, many parents have been cryogenically freezing their newborns’ cord blood (and its stem cells) in private cord banks. This has proven quite effective in combating conditions such as leukemia and sickle-cell anemia. More recently, with the advent of further ASC therapies derived from umbilical cord blood, private sector cord-blood freezing has grown considerably. In the United States alone, companies like Cryo-Cell, Cord Blood Registry, Inc., and ViaCord will collect the cord blood, process it, and freeze it should it ever be needed. Competition in the field is growing, with the leading companies responding accordingly: Cryo-Cell will contribute 4% of storage fees to a personal college savings account for the donor; Cord Blood Registry has a free trial program; ViaCord offers competitive financing rates. The business model is an ingenious one. The only real costs are cryogenic freezing and advertising.
The low overhead and bustling competition is causing larger companies to enter the market. Sir Richard Branson is set to announce this week that he is starting a stem cell bank under the brand, not a little ironically, of his Virgin empire. According to the Times of London, the storage facility will focus on preserving umbilical cord stem cells, which are useful in combating blood disorders. In the current research environment, however, there is no reason for Branson to limit himself to that one kind of therapy, and it is unlikely that he will.
Given Dr. Atala’s claim that he has “shown the [AFS] cells can grow into nerve, blood vessels, liver cells, cartilage, bone and cardiac muscle” there is a diversity of ailments from which a person could suffer long after birth, whose effective treatment could be ensured by AFS cell storage. Should AFS cell therapy become a reality, it is only a matter of time before people begin freezing AFS cells in earnest, which would prove lucrative to the relatively young cord-blood storage industry, which is uniquely situated to provide the service given its existing cryogenic infrastructure. Cryo-Cell, for example, already offers placental ASC storage services. The news out of Wake Forest will make others take notice of the possibilities inherent in storing more than just cord blood stem cells.
Already, the industry tends toward vertical integration. Most existing cord blood banks are financially tied to larger biotechnology firms—ViaCord is a subsidiary of ViaCell; Cryo-Cell has a financial relationship with Saneron CCEL Therapeutics, Inc. In the future, look for the first biotech firm to derive an effective AFS cell therapy to enter into an exclusive relationship with a storage banking facility. Cryo-Cell already has one such arrangement with the Plureon Corporation in its storage of placental ASC.
Another possible challenge facing the private stem cell storage industry is the possible expansion of public stem cell banks. Already such banks exist—primarily for cord blood stem cells—and they are sure to grow in the future. For those parents unwilling to pay for private stem cell storage, it would not take much inducement to convince them to donate the AFS cells, from either amniocentesis or placenta, to a public storage bank. Whereas privately stored AFS cells would be a certain immunogenic match for a patient down the line, it has been suggested that a sufficiently large public bank of stem cells would have the genetic diversity to serve the vast majority of the public. Such a situation would render private stem cell storage superfluous and would likely stunt any growth in the industry. Nonetheless, in order to obtain the requisite genetic diversity for large-scale “matching,” the bank would need hundreds of thousands of donors. Until such an extensive public bank can be secured, there will continue to be a pressing need for growth in private stem cell storage, since most stem cell therapy would require either stem cells stored from one’s own birth, or someone else’s, acquired through financial transaction with a private storage facility, that are an immunogenic “match.”
While government wrangles interminably with expanding embryo-destructive research, amniotic fluid and adult stem cell research will move closer and closer to effective therapy. Parents will clamor for a way to store these cells, and with them the chance to preserve their children’s lives. You can take that to the (cell) bank.
Michael Fragoso is a research assistant at the Family Research Council.
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how is this relevant to Protide you ask?
simple: Protide manufactures the media for storage of cells.
http://www.protidepharma.com/products/celox.aspx
Lazarusthelonely
Stem-cell storage firm takes Branson into biotech sector
David Robertson, Davos
Latest move into new technologies
Umbilical blood stored for future use
Sir Richard Branson will launch his most controversial business to date as he moves into stem-cell storage and the biotech sector, The Times has learnt.
The Virgin-branded company will be launched next Thursday and is expected to offer parents the chance to put the umbilical blood of their newborn children into cold storage. Scientists believe that future advances in medical technology will use stem cells to cure diseases such as Alzheimer’s and cancer.
move into stem-cell storage is part of a strategy that Sir Richard is developing to invest in technologies of the future. He has already launched Virgin Galactic, which will take tourists into space, and is investing all the profits of Virgin Atlantic, his airline, in the development of environmentally friendly biofuels.
Stem-cell storage works by saving human blood from the placenta or umbilical cord after birth. This blood is rich in haematopoietic stem cells, which are capable of adapting in the body and replacing damaged or diseased cells. Stem cells taken from umbilical blood at birth have a much higher chance of being supported by the body than healthy cells imported from another donor. This type of treatment has been used for many years in bone marrow transplants for leukaemia sufferers, but scientists believe that medical advances will use stem cells to cure other cancers, as well as heart disease, spinal cord injuries, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s.
Public cord storage is becoming more common, particularly in the US, but there is also a growing private industry taking advantage of the promise of these cures. However, the industry is extremely controversial because the chances of developing a disease that stem cells can cure, such as leukaemia, is small while the new cures may never materialise. Some anti-abortion groups believe that any use of stem cells will lead to human cloning.
Private storage of stem cells is unlawful in France and Italy and is opposed by the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies, which is a European Commission body.
This has not stopped more than 11,000 families in the UK using stem-cell storage facilities. The services typically cost about £1,500 for collection of the blood and about £100 a year for cold storage. A number of celebrity parents are reported to have used these services including Thierry Henry, the Arsenal footballer, and Darcey Bussell, the dancer.
Virgin Group refused to comment on the launch but said that stem cells had been an area of interest for Sir Richard for many years.
Pharmaceutical industry executives attending the World Economic Forum in Davos said that Sir Richard’s move could be the prelude to developing a fully-fledged biotech business if he invested in the medicines associated with stem cells.
Sir Richard is also in advanced talks to buy land in Macau to build a £1.5 billion casino resort.
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gee wiz and stem cell storage is just the kind of business Protide is in.
come on Milo - get us some RESPECT!
Lazarus
folks take a look at BLFS news today:
Jan 23, 2007 07:30:00 (ET)
OWEGO, N.Y., Jan 23, 2007 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- BioLife Solutions Inc. (BLFS, Trade ) a leading manufacturer of proprietary cryopreservation media for cells and tissues, today announced preliminary results for product sales for the fourth quarter and full-year 2006.
Sales of the Company's patented HypoThermosol(R) and CryoStor(TM) preservation solutions for the quarter ended December 31, 2006, increased to $176,000, up 32 percent over fourth-quarter 2005. Full-year 2006 product sales increased 36 percent to $603,000, when compared to product sales for full-year 2005.
Chief Executive Officer Mike Rice commented: "Our product sales reflect increases in orders from both new and existing customers, which are attributable to our sales and marketing initiatives throughout 2006 and what we believe is growing adoption of HypoThermosol and CryoStor as cell therapy companies, pharmaceutical firms, and cell suppliers to academic research become more aware of the benefits of our products.
"As for our future growth, we have identified several new markets and applications for our products," Rice continued. "To help maximize the potential these opportunities offer, it's important that we strengthen and broaden our scientific team and expand our IP portfolio. We expect to be making several announcements over the next several weeks as we move forward with our growth plans, including the filing of several new patent applications."
The company also announced management changes. Its board of directors terminated the employment of John G. Baust, as chairman, senior vice president, and chief scientific officer pursuant to the terms of his employment agreement dated July 26, 2006, which includes a non-compete, non-solicitation clause effective for 24 months. The board of directors also terminated the employment of John M. Baust as the Company's director of research and development. He is the son of John G. Baust.
In a related decision, the board also elected to not renew its research and development agreement with Cell Preservation Services, Inc. (CPSI), which is scheduled to expire on March 15, 2007. The agreement with CPSI includes a non-disclosure provision that remains in force for 24 months and also specifies that BioLife owns all rights, titles, and interests in any and all technology, inventions, designs, and ideas that resulted from CPSI's research and development activities in support of specific projects directed by BioLife.
The Company has commenced searches for a new senior scientific officer and research and development officer as part of its strategic decision to bring its intellectual property and product development in-house.
About BioLife Solutions
BioLife Solutions develops, manufactures and markets patented hypothermic storage and cryopreservation solutions for cells, tissues, and organs. The Company's proprietary HypoThermosol(R) and CryoStor(TM) preservation media are marketed directly to companies, laboratories, and academic institutions engaged in research and commercial clinical applications. BioLife's line of serum-free and protein-free preservation solutions are fully defined and formulated to reduce or prevent preservation-induced, delayed-onset cell damage and death. BioLife's platform enabling technology provides academic and clinical researchers significant improvement in post-thaw cell, tissue, and organ viability and function. For more information please visit BioLife Solutions' website at www.biolifesolutions.com .
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LISTEN UP FOLKS ....
PPMD is in the same field with probably better annual sales and a profit on the bottom line - although i cant confirm because i dont have a copy of the latest financials. you can find their filings under Celox labs.
check out their product line which is similar to that of BLFS - here it is from their website:http://www.protidepharma.com/default.aspx
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TCM
General purpose serum replacement for many cell types from a variety of species. The bovine albumin and transferrin are highly purified and heat treated. The final total protein concentration is less than 0.1%. For cell culture use. Not for human use. * TCM is packaged as a 50X concentrate.
See References
Catalog No. 1001 size 40ml – produces 2 liters of complete growth medium
Catalog No. 1002 size 100ml – produces 5 liters of complete growth medium
Catalog No. 2005 size 500ml produces 25 liters of complete medium
Custom Sizes Available – Please contact Customer Service for information
TM-235 ™
Has similar properties as TCM, however, contains additional components for cells which require serum concentrations (e.g. fetal bovine serum) higher than 10%. The final total protein concentration is less than 0.1%. The bovine albumin and transferrin are highly purified and heat treated. For cell culture use. Not for human use. TM-235 is packaged as a 50X concentrate.
See References
Catalog No. 2001 size 40ml produces 2 liters of complete medium
Catalog No. 2002 size 100ml produces 5 liters of complete medium
Catalog No. 2005 size 500ml produces 25 liters of complete medium
Custom Sizes Available – Please contact Customer Service for information
TCH ™
Primarily for human cells and the production of cell secreted proteins. TCH is also effective in culturing other mammalian cells without the use of animal proteins. For cell culture use. Not for human use. TCH is packaged as a 50X concentrate.
See References
Catalog No. 3001 size 40ml produces 2 liters of complete medium
Catalog No. 3002 size 100ml produces 5 liters of complete medium
Catalog No. 3005 size 500ml produces 25 liters of complete medium
Custom Sizes Available – Please contact Customer Service for information
pZerve ™
Is a cryopreservation solution that does not contain dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), fetal bovine serum or other animal protein. Optimal recovery is achieved through elimination of these harmful components. pZerve is ready to use, does not require any dilution or further processing and can be used for cells cultured in serum free medium or with serum containing medium. For research use.
See References
Catalog No. 5700 size 60ml
Custom Sizes Available – Please contact Customer Service for information
Cellvation ™
Is a unique cryopreservation medium which eliminates the problems associated with DMSO such as cytotoxicity, morphological differentiation and the adventitious components found in serum. Cellvation ™ is convenient to use, provides optimal recovery while eliminating preparation and centrifugation steps and can be used for cells cultured in serum free medium or with serum containing medium. For research use.
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PPMD and BLFS are both in the same field.
i would be willing to wager that PPMD is doing much better than BLFS - and fwiw i own both stocks.
the problem i see is that BLFS has a market cap of over 5 million dollars with its 68 million plus shares OS whereas PPMD has a market cap of only 640k at the current bid. if PPMD had the same market cap as BLFS [which i believe it should and will] then it would be trading at $1.25
IF PPMD DOES NOT MAKE IT TO $1.25 I WILL EAT A FLEA!
the Professor
States step up stem-cell funding
By Gregory Lopes
January 19, 2007
While Congress wrangles with President Bush over federal funding for stem-cell research, states are boosting funding for the breakthrough science.
Maryland is making $15 million available for research using both adult and embryonic stem cells, and this week the Maryland Stem Cell Commission announced it has received applications seeking more than $80 million in research funding.
Federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research is allowed only for research using stem-cell lines created before Aug. 10, 2001. Mr. Bush vetoed a bill that year that would have expanded eligible stem-cell lines to include cells derived from embryos created for fertility treatments and donated by patients.
Opponents of embryonic stem-cell research think it is immoral to destroy human embryos, even for medical research.
Last week, the House again passed legislation to expand federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research. The Senate will consider a similar bill today. The bill's prospects appear dim, however, because the White House has threatened another veto and the House vote was 37 votes shy of the 290 needed to override it.
States now are rushing to fill the federal funding void.
California voters in 2004 passed Proposition 71, which, although mired in litigation, created a $3 billion pool of public funds to distribute to embryonic stem-cell researchers.
Connecticut plans to award $100 million over 10 years for embryonic stem-cell research, while Illinois budgeted $10 million last year and Democratic Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich supports legislation that would allocate an additional $100 million from the state's tobacco settlement to fund the research over five years.
This week, the New Jersey General Assembly began debate over a proposed referendum to borrow $230 million for stem-cell research over the next seven years, including embryonic stem-cell research.
Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine said he plans to build biomedical labs including a New Jersey Stem Cell Research Institute.
Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer this month urged the New York state legislature to pass a $2 billion, 10-year bond initiative for scientific research and development, at least half of which will be earmarked for stem-cell research.
Some states are providing funds for the science, but their resources are limited. Without federal funding, embryonic stem-cell research advocates say, the U.S. will fall behind in this emerging field.
Analysis: Stem cell buzz may help industry
By STEVE MITCHELL
WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- Stem cell companies may benefit from the buzz surrounding the field generated by the anticipated clash between Congress and President Bush and increased regulatory attention being given to adult stem cell products.
Companies focused on embryonic stem cell therapeutics have issued releases about their research recently in an apparent attempt to capitalize on the increased attention on the field after the House passed legislation last week that would relax restrictions on federal funding for the research.
Both chambers of Congress passed a similar bill last year, but Bush vetoed it and is expected to continue his opposition this year. House Democrats last week were hopeful they could garner enough votes to override a veto, but they fell short of the votes they would need to do so.
Advanced Cell said Wednesday it plans to hold a conference for investors on Friday to "to discuss recent progress and events with respect to the company's initiatives to develop stem cell-based therapies for a range of diseases and conditions."
The firm also announced earlier this week that it was awarded a federal grant from the National Institutes of Health for research focused on gaining a better understanding of how embryonic stem cells develop and differentiation into specific types of cells and complex tissues.
Geron said Wednesday new research indicates GRNOPC1, a potential human embryonic stem cell-based therapeutic for spinal cord injury, produces multiple nerve growth factors that stimulate survival and regeneration of damaged neurons in animal models.
Ivan Feinseth, an analyst with Matrix Research, told United Press International he thinks Geron's stock is currently overpriced.
"Based on the current revenue stream and other factors, the stock is overvalued," Feinseth said. He currently rates Geron as a strong sale.
"Of course, current legislation could change that," Feinseth added. But he does not follow Congress and said he did not feel qualified to comment on what might happen on the political front.
Michael Werner, president of the Werner Group, a biotech consulting firm in Washington, told UPI the support for the legislation being considered in Congress will help companies attract funding and investors.
"The clear demonstration of broad bipartisan support for this legislation shows this research has got a lot of promise and credibility and that means the private markets are going to be more willing to fund companies that are in this space," Werner said.
The Food and Drug Administration Tuesday took a step that will make it easier for cord blood stem cell products to reach the market and also may have implications for other stem cell products.
The FDA issued a draft guidance for a streamlined path to licensure for cord blood products for certain medical conditions, such as replenishing the bone marrow in patients with leukemia.
"Cord blood hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells offer the potential for tremendous therapeutic benefit," said Jesse Goodman, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. "In this draft guidance, FDA provides recommendations on a streamlined path to licensure for these promising products that also ensures their safety and effectiveness."
Under the draft guidance, cord blood banks can cite existing data in the docket to support licensure for certain indications rather than having to provide their own clinical data. The FDA said it was proposing this strategy because it has determined cord blood hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells are safe and effective for certain indications based on data submitted to the public docket and published scientific research.
Werner said the FDA's action also may boost investor support for the field and make it easier for companies developing products based on cord blood stem cells to move forward.
"It will certainly help cord blood companies by streamlining the development process and it could help the regenerative medicine field more broadly," he said.
The fact that it comes from a federal agency also "demonstrates this is a field that is no longer way out there," Werner said. "It shows this is the real deal. We are able to use these technologies and we're getting closer and closer to getting products in the clinic and treating patients."
Advanced Cell said during its Friday conference call William Caldwell IV, its chairman and chief executive officer, will provide an overview of the company's activities and will comment on the effect the political climate is having on stem cell research.
This includes not only the federal debate, but favorable legislation for the research passed by certain states, such as California and New Jersey. Advanced Cell also noted that Eliot Spitzer, who was recently elected governor of New York, called for passage of a research-and-development bond that would provide $2 billion over a 10-year period, at least half of which would go towards stem cell work.
Geron, which published its new research in Stem Cells and Development, said the findings emphasize the therapeutic potential of GRNOPC1.
"The work extends our knowledge of the multiple biological activities of GRNOPC1," said Thomas Okarma, Geron's president and CEO. "The multiple functions of GRNOPC1 affirm the potential therapeutic utility of our cell-based approach to the repair of spinal cord injury and provide multiple mechanisms within a single therapy to achieve functional recovery."
VC investing highest since 2001
Investments in 2006 jumped to $25.5 billion. Who's getting the cash? Biotech, energy, and - yes - Internet start-ups.
By Grace Wong, CNNMoney.com staff writer
January 23 2007: 5:41 AM EST
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. venture capital investments climbed to a five-year high in 2006 as investments in biotech and Internet-related firms soared, according to a report issued Tuesday.
Venture capital investments rose 10 percent to $25.5 billion, the highest level since 2001, according to the MoneyTree Report by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association based on data from Thomson Financial.
Venture capitalists provide financing and management expertise to young start-ups with the aim of taking them public or selling them down the road.
Biotech attracted a record $4.5 billion in 2006, up 15 percent from a year earlier.
Big pharmaceutical companies facing expiring drug patents are turning to biotech firms to fill their pipelines, said Terry McGuire, managing general partner at Polaris Venture Partners.
Investments in medical devices climbed 29 percent to $2.7 billion, also a record. Together, biotech and medical devices accounted for nearly one-third of all venture capital invested.
The software sector attracted $5 billion -- the most of any single industry -- but growth was flat from the previous year.
Firms which rely on the Web received $4 billion, representing growth of 25 percent. These so-called Internet-specific companies can fall under a variety of the survey's industry categories, such as software or telecommunications.
Investments in energy start-ups rose sharply, more than doubling to $1.8 billion. About 40 percent of that amount flowed to alternative energy firms, which venture capitalists have flocked to in recent years.
A separate reported issued Monday by VentureOne and Ernst & Young showed similar trends in the VC industry.
Some blame overly enthusiastic venture capital investing for the rise of dot-com companies that might not have been ready for public markets, and thus for contributing to the boom-and-burst of the dot-com bubble. VC investing has recovered in the years following the burst of the dotcom bubble, but the comeback has been slow, if steady. That's partly because while the momentum for initial public offerings has been building, the environment remains cautious.
In the post-dotcom era, public markets have become more rational and there are higher thresholds IPO candidates must meet, said Steve Krausz, general partner at U.S. Venture Partners. But "there appears to be a good pipeline of offerings for fairly mature companies" in the first quarter, he added.
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NOTE: BIOTECH ATTRACTING $$$
Lazarus
More venture capital in state
Investments in Illinois companies increased 25% in 2006, report finds
By Mike Hughlett
Tribune staff reporter
Published January 23, 2007
Venture capital investments in fledgling Illinois companies topped $300 million last year for the first time since the tech bubble burst, according to an annual study released Monday.
Anchored by a few particularly big deals, venture investments in Illinois totaled $344 million in 2006, up 25 percent from the previous year, according to the Quarterly Venture Capital Report by Ernst & Young and Dow Jones VentureOne.
Nationally, venture capital investments hit a five-year high of $25.7 billion, up 8 percent over the previous year, the report found.
Venture capital is a form of investment that's critical for small, fast-growing firms--particularly technology companies. Typically, it is the money used to get a company off the ground. While the payoffs can be huge if the company succeeds, the risk of failure is high.
Illinois isn't a hot spot for venture capital. The state received 1.3 percent of all venture capital funding nationally last year, according to a Tribune analysis of a Dow Jones/Ernst & Young report.
Still, that was Illinois's biggest slice of the pie since 2001, when the state pulled in $563 million, or 1.5 percent, of all venture funding.
"Things are definitely improving," said Keith Bank, managing director of KB Partners, a venture firm in Northbrook. "The amount of capital in the market has certainly increased."
Maura O'Hara, executive director of the Illinois Venture Capital Association, said Illinois has been looking more attractive to venture funds on the East and West Coasts.
That's because higher valuations are often placed on promising, young firms on the coasts when compared to the Midwest, she said. "A lot of outside money has come into Illinois. People are searching for value deals."
While the number of venture deals was down a bit in Illinois last year, the dollar volume was way up, buoyed by several big-buck financings, including three over $50 million, according to the Ernst & Young/Dow Jones report. The median deal nationally was $7 million.
One of those big deals was $57 million of later-stage funding for Northbrook-based Nanosphere, a pharmaceutical company that utilizes nanotechnology.
The deal's lead investor was Boston-based Bain Capital. It also included New York-based Allen & Co. and Chicago's Lurie Investments, Nanosphere's founding investor.
The first half of 2006 marked the busiest time for venture funding in Illinois, though two significant deals capped the fourth quarter.
BridgePort Networks, a Chicago-based telecom software firm, got $13 million, bringing its total venture funding to $51 million over three years.
Also, Peoria-based Firefly Energy, which is seeking to reinvent the lead-acid battery, won $10 million in financing, in addition to the $7 million it had already raised.
Venture funding in Illinois and nationally fell off in 2002, as the excesses of the tech boom came home to roost. Too much money ended up in too many low-quality deals.
But as more money has flowed back into the market, venture investors appear to have learned their lesson. "The quality [of deals] is as good as it has been in some time," said KB's Bank.
In Illinois, the relative lack of seed capital remains a problem, Bank said. Seed capital is early-stage venture funding needed by companies just launching their work.
"My view is that there is still way too little seed capital available here," Bank said.
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IS PPMD IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME?
Lazarus - wondering out loud.
Biotalk or biotech? In which does Illinois want to be leader?
January 5, 2007
BY STEVE HUNTLEY
Anne Graham Lotz says she rejects embryonic stem cell research because "an embryo is a tiny human life." In a Christmas Eve interview with Fox News, she went on to say she opposes it even though stem cells may offer potential treatments for diseases suffered by her father, famed evangelist Billy Graham, who has Parkinson's, and her husband Dan, who is battling kidney failure and going blind from complications of diabetes.
That position would seem to afford Lotz high moral ground in the nation's debate over embryonic stem cell research. Her willingness to forgo the hope of cures for loved ones is presented as evidence of the integrity, virtue and soundness of her opposition to this medical endeavor on the grounds that it violates human life.
With all due respect to Lotz and the obvious depth of her faith and to those who take the same stance, many of us see her position as not unlike the Jehovah's Witnesses who refuse blood transfusions and Christian Scientists who reject medical help in general. It seems an incomprehensible rejection of modernity and hope. Neither science nor the law describes as a human being the early-stage embryo involved in stem cell research. Its scientific name is blastocyst, a collection of about 150 cells smaller than the period at the end of this sentence. Lotz can wrap her arms around her dad and her husband, laugh and cry with them, but she needs a microscope just to get a good look at a blastocyst. Of course, she might reply that none of us can see a soul. But again, we're back in the realm of religion, not science.
The chief objection is that collecting the stem cells involves destroying the embryo. (These embryos are produced through in vitro fertilization and most unused ones likely would end up destroyed anyway.) Scientists are seeking answers to religion's objections. For example, researchers in Massachusetts have reported on a technique to remove just one cell from an eight-cell embryo, yielding stem cells but not destroying the embryo.
Religious belief is the rock on which hopes for public funding of stem cell research have crashed in Washington and Springfield. But the new year brings new initiatives. In Washington, Democrats want to end President Bush's restrictions on federal support of stem cell research. A previous effort fell to his veto, and the new legislation likely will also. More hopefully, in Springfield, state Sen. Jeffrey Schoenberg (D-Evanston) and House Republican Leader Tom Cross (who, like me, has a daughter with diabetes) want to use $25 million a year from the state's tobacco settlement fund to underwrite stem cell research. A stem cell bill failed in the Senate last year, but the election results fuel reasonable hopes this measure can pass.
Approval would lay down an important signal that Illinois is welcoming to this field of research. Gov. Blagojevich allocated $15 million over two years for stem cell study but had to bypass -- some might say mislead -- the Legislature to do it.
Other states have seized the lead. New Jersey recently authorized borrowing $270 million to establish several stem cell research centers. Connecticut last month awarded $20 million for 21 projects and intends to spend $100 million over the next decade, according to the New York Times. Maryland reports getting more applications than it can fund with the $15 million it has allocated this year for stem cell research.
True, state-funded efforts have been stymied by court challenges. California, for instance, hasn't been able to tap into a $3 billion bond measure passed by voters. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger stepped in to lend $150 million from California's general fund to the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine pending the outcome of the lawsuits. Private donors also are helping. Several have chipped in millions of dollars to stem cell programs at California universities. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg gave $100 million to Johns Hopkins University and, according to the Washington Post, private money is supporting research at Harvard, Cornell and Columbia universities.
No one knows how many billions of dollars will be required for stem cells to realize the potential so many medical researchers see in them for treatments and cures for diseases ranging from diabetes to Parkinson's to Alzheimer's and for devastating physical wounds like spinal cord injuries. These wonders, if achieved, no doubt are many years away, though a University of Wisconsin-based magazine, WiCell: The Journal of Stem Cell Discovery, reports, "A procedure for repairing spinal cord injuries is the closest to reality and may begin human trials as soon as next year."
Illinois, eager to see the biotech industry prosper within its borders, shouldn't be standing on the sidelines while science marches on. The General Assembly should seize the plan offered by Schoenberg and Cross to help make Illinois a center for stem research, not just for the jobs and research dollars it will attract, but for the hope of healthier lives it offers so many people.
_________________________
NOTE: PPMD recently changed their address from Minnesotta to Illinois.
Lazarus
besides the website...
there are the filings with the SEC under Celox Labs.
perhaps a call to the company with your questions might satisfy your interest.
Lazarus
Hi Lazarus. You have peaked my interest here with PPMD. Looks like there may be some strong potential here that isnt readily visible on the surface. Aside from the website which is not too informative about the companies latest developments, is there anywhere else i can look to find out what the company has been doing over the past year?
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