Stemware... All About StemCell Stocks

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Sector Snap: Stem Cell Developers
Monday May 7, 2:20 pm ET
Stem Cell Developers' Shares Rise Following a Marketplace Overview From Barron's


NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of biotechnology companies developing stem cell-based treatments jumped Monday following a report in Barron's on the technology's possibilities.
Shares of StemCells Inc. rose 12 cents, or 4.8 percent, to $2.63 in midday trading. Shares of Osiris Therapeutics Inc. rose 11 cents to $15.05, while shares of Geron Corp. rose 21 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $7.64 and shares of Cytori Therapeutics Inc. rose 38 cents, or 6.9 percent, to $5.88 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Thermogenesis Corp. saw shares rise 15 cents, or 4.6 percent, to $3.45.

Many companies in the field are developing stem cells for therapies to treat diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. The research is also a lightning rod for debate. President Bush has vetoed a bill that would subsidize research using human embryos that are later destroyed.

Meanwhile, individual states have gone their own way, with California, Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey all providing funding. Missouri voters narrowly passed a constitutional amendment last year to fund research.

StemCells is conducting an early stage trial for a Batten's disease treatment, a rare neurodegenerative disease that affects infants and young children.

Osiris has been given orphan drug status in Europe for its developing stem cell treatment Prochymal. That drug is being tested as a possible treatment to help prevent rejection of transplanted bone marrow and for Crohn's disease.