Stem cell market to reach $322 million by 2017

2011 saw the stem cell market earn revenues of $148.4 million in 2011 and this is forecast to reach $322 million by 2017. The segments covered include: bio-imaging and microscopy, cell biology tools, immunochemical, molecular biology tools, and protein biochemistry tools.

The US is one of the major stem cell markets in the world, and the country has been witnessing a significant level of positive growth over the past few years. The US stem cell market was estimated to reach around $830 Million in 2010, up from $500 Million in 2009.

This market growth can be attributed to a number of supporting factors, such as huge investment, strong demand, and rising disease incidences. Forecasters have predicted that these factors will lead to the US stem cell market generating revenues of $3 billion by 2013.

A key step forward for the market has been the stem cell regulations in a few countries allowing the use of certain cell lines. In some countries such as France, for instance, stem cell regulations are being renewed for the procurement and use of stem cells.

Standardised research guidelines are needed to control and encourage the development of gene therapy and stem cell treatments. Regenerative medicine is seen as an area with high future potential, as countries need ways to cope with the burden of an aging population.

Stem cell research is very dynamic with research trends, focus, and approaches evolving extremely rapidly. The tool market has to quickly adapt to these challenges and develop innovative tools that address and accelerate research accomplishments.

Organisations such as the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) publish recommended guidelines on working with stem cells, but these are not binding. Governments must therefore come together to determine a standardised framework for innovative medical research, in order that positive results and long-term follow-up data can be produced to solidify the reputation and investment potential of the regenerative medicine market.

For more information on the stem cell market, see the latest research: Stem Cell Market Report

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Stem cell market to reach $322 million by 2017

Stemtech: Stem cell nutrition could eclipse antioxidant supplement market

The emerging field of stem cell nutrition has the potential to eclipse the massive antioxidant supplement business according to the boss of the Californian firm responsible for creating a completely new category in nutritional supplements.

Ray Carter Jr, CEO of Stemtech International, was speaking to NutraIngredients-USA after signing a multi-million dollar deal with Australian biotech firm Marinova to include its proprietary Fucoidan ingredients in Stemtechs new SE2 supplement.

The next generation of Stemtechs best-selling StemEnhance supplement, SE2 also includes a concentrate of blue-green algae Aphanizomenon flos-aquae (AFA), the herb Polygonum multiflorum and the fungus Cordyceps sinensis.

Adult stem cells, tissue maintenance and repair

SE2 helps increase the number of adult stem cells or master cells that are released into the bloodstream before migrating into tissues where they reproduce and become new healthy cells, effectively helping the body renew and repair itself, claimed Carter.

Stemtech products have already generated more than $200m in sales since 2005, he added: Stem cell nutrition addresses a brand new way to support health [and]has the potential to eclipse the massive antioxidant supplement business.

When consumers first heard the words stem cell, they were inundated with media reports about the controversy and promise of embryonic stem cell (ESC) research.

Fast forward to today, and they are beginning to learn that adult stem cells actually show much more clinical promise without the ethical and moral controversy surrounding ESCs.

The bodys natural renewal system

Adult stem cellshave been shown to be the bodys natural renewal system, he claimed.

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Stemtech: Stem cell nutrition could eclipse antioxidant supplement market

Life Technologies Signs Licensing Agreement with iPS Academia Japan for Global Patent Portfolio Rights to Induced …

CARLSBAD, Calif., June 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Life Technologies Corporation (LIFE) today announced that it has deepened its commitment to stem cell research and its customers by signing a non-exclusive agreement with iPS Academia Japan for its induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell patent portfolio. The worldwide license will enable Life Technologies, a leading provider of innovative life science solutions, to expand its range of products and services for the iPS cell research community.

By leveraging its expertise in stem cell tool manufacturing and its global distribution network, Life Technologies is now positioned to develop and commercialize products designed to create iPS cells and differentiate them into any cell type for use in drug discovery and pre-clinical research. In additional to directly selling iPS cells, the license enables the company to provide iPS cell creation, differentiation and screening services for scientists around the world.

"iPS Academia Japan is pleased to grant a non-exclusive license and build a relationship with Life Technologies Corporation. Because iPS cells are gaining greater attention for uses in drug discovery and disease research as well as other areas of biotechnology, distribution of iPS cell products or provision of services is important for gaining momentum in iPS cell research," said Shosaku Murayama, president and Chief Executive Officer of AJ. "We believe that Life Technologies' business will contribute to boost research and development for practical application of iPS cell technology. We hope for further advancement of the iPS cell technology and its practical use in the coming years and we continue to support expanding the iPS cell technology by licensing our patent portfolio."

Scientists use iPS cell technology to create iPS cells from patient-derived adult cells. The iPS cells can then be differentiated into many primary cell types, such as neurons and hepatocytes, to be studied in the lab. The ability to develop cells from people with particular conditions of interest gives researchers the ability to study the genetics behind patient-specific diseases in an effort to test or develop new potential treatments.

"I am very pleased that Life Technologies, a worldwide biotechnology company, has signed an agreement for Kyoto University Patent," said Professor Shinya Yamanaka, who led the team that was first to generate iPS cells in 2006. "I hope it will speed up the movement towards practical applications of iPS cell technology."

Mark Stevenson, President and COO of Life Technologies, added: "Life Technologies has a heritage of providing the science community with the most innovative solutions designed to accelerate research. With this license now in place, we are furthering our commitment to the stem cell field and to developing a full breadth of products and services for our customers whether they are in basic research, drug discovery and development, or moving toward clinical applications."

About Life TechnologiesLife Technologies Corporation (LIFE) is a global biotechnology company with customers in more than 160 countries using its innovative solutions to solve some of today's most difficult scientific challenges. Quality and innovation are accessible to every lab with its reliable and easy-to-use solutions spanning the biological spectrum with more than 50,000 products for translational research, molecular medicine and diagnostics, stem cell-based therapies, forensics, food safety and animal health. Its systems, reagents and consumables represent some of the most cited brands in scientific research including: Ion Torrent, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, GIBCO, Ambion, Molecular Probes, Novex, and TaqMan. Life Technologies employs approximately 10,400 people and upholds its ongoing commitment to innovation with more than 4,000 patents and exclusive licenses. LIFE had sales of $3.7 billion in 2011. Visit us at our website: http://www.lifetechnologies.com.

Life Technologies' Safe Harbor Statement This press release includes forward-looking statements about our anticipated results that involve risks and uncertainties. Some of the information contained in this press release, including, but not limited to, statements as to industry trends and Life Technologies' plans, objectives, expectations and strategy for its business, contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Any statements that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. When used, the words "believe," "plan," "intend," "anticipate," "target," "estimate," "expect" and the like, and/or future tense or conditional constructions ("will," "may," "could," "should," etc.), or similar expressions, identify certain of these forward-looking statements. Important factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are detailed in filings made byLife Technologies with the Securities and Exchange Commission.Life Technologies undertakes no obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

ABOUT iPS ACADEMIA JAPAN, INC.iPS Academia Japan, Inc. (AJ) is an affiliate of Kyoto University, and its main role is, among other activities, to manage and utilize the patents and other intellectual properties held/controlled by Kyoto University and other universities in the field of iPSC technologies so that the research results contribute to health and welfare worldwide.

AJ was established in Kyoto in June 2008. AJ's patent portfolio consists of more than 60 patent families (the total number of patent applications is about 220 cases) in the iPSC technology as of April 2012, and about 50 license arrangements have been executed with domestic or international enterprises. For more information, visit http://www.ips-cell.net.

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Life Technologies Signs Licensing Agreement with iPS Academia Japan for Global Patent Portfolio Rights to Induced ...

SCIENCE: Texas Gov. Rick Perry, stem cell advocates, find common ground at San Diego meeting

Texas Gov. and former GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry met with stem cell scientists and patients in San Diego on Monday. Their goal: to work out a strategy they can agree on to bring the benefits of stem cell research to those in need.

Human embryonic stem cell research is controversial ---- Perry is against it. But all those at the meeting support nonembryonic stem cell research. Perry himself received a transplant of his own stem cells last year after undergoing spinal fusion surgery.

"This meeting exemplified the good things that can happen when we start building bridges between a diversity of people," wrote stem cell researcher Paul Knoepfler ofUC Davis School of Medicine, who took part in the meeting and blogged about it.

The meeting was hosted by Jerry Henberger of the Parkinsons Association of San Diego, at The Scripps Research Institute, Knoepfler wrote.

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SCIENCE: Texas Gov. Rick Perry, stem cell advocates, find common ground at San Diego meeting

Team devises stem-cell method for retinal tissue

KOBE A method to generate multilayered retinal tissue from human embryonic stem cells, developed by a Japanese biological research unit and Sumitomo Chemical Co., has been published in the June 13 edition of the U.S. scientific journal Cell Stem Cell.

It is the first time multilayered retinal tissue has been developed from human ESCs. In the article, the research team at the Riken Center for Developmental Biology and Sumitomo Chemical said, "We demonstrate that an optic cup structure can form by self-organization in human ESC culture."

The method could be applied to regenerative medicine by transplanting the tissue generated to treat conventionally incurable eye diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa, an inherited, degenerative eye disease that causes severe visual impairment and blindness.

"Human ESC-derived neural retina grows into multilayered tissue containing both rods and cones, whereas cone differentiation is rare in mouse ESC culture," the article said.

The researchers developed a method to generate a large amount of such tissue in a short period of time as well as a method that enables en bloc cryopreservation of stratified neural retina of human origin, with useful applications.

Kyodo

LONDON Japanese scientist Shinya Yamanaka has received this year's Millennium Technology Prize for his discovery of a new method to produce induced pluripotent stem cells at a ceremony in Helsinki.

He shared the prize with Finland's Linus Torvalds, 42, who developed the Linux open-source computer operating system. They will split the ?1.2 million in prize money, given by Technology Academy Finland, a foundation partially funded by the Finnish government.

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Team devises stem-cell method for retinal tissue

Stanford researcher identifies unusual 'altruistic' stem cell behavior with possible link to cancer

Public release date: 11-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Krista Conger kristac@stanford.edu 650-725-5371 Stanford University Medical Center

STANFORD, Calif. When most groups of mammalian cells are faced with a shortage of nutrients or oxygen, the phrase "every man for himself" is more apt than "all for one, one for all." Unlike colonies of bacteria, which often cooperate to thrive as a group, mammalian cells have never been observed to help one another out. But a new study led by a researcher at the Stanford University School of Medicine has shown that certain human embryonic stem cells, in times of stress, produce molecules that not only benefit themselves, but also help nearby cells survive.

"Altruism has been reported among bacterial populations and among humans and other animals, like monkeys and elephants," said Stanford postdoctoral scholar Bikul Das, MBBS, PhD. "But in mammalian cells at the cellular level the idea of altruism has never been described before." Das is the lead author of a paper, to be published online June 11 in Stem Cells, documenting altruistic behavior by human embryonic stem cells, or hESCs.

While altruism is generally thought of as a virtue, it can have a downside for hESCs: The altruistic cells appear to be more prone to accumulating mutations, a sign that they could lead to cancers. A better understanding of hESC altruism could provide new insights into cancer therapies, as well as improving scientists' ability to develop safe and effective stem cell treatments for other diseases.

The finding arose from Das' research into how hESCs react to low-oxygen environments, important because many cancerous tumors are low in oxygen. Embryonic stem cells have the capability to develop into many different cell types through a process called differentiation. Das found that when hESCs were placed for 24 hours in an environment with only one-tenth of a percent of oxygen (the air we breathe, by comparison, is almost 21 percent oxygen), free-radical molecules were generated that began causing internal damage in some cells. Ninety percent of the hESCs differentiated into other cell types or died, with only 10 percent maintaining their so-called "stemness," meaning they retained their ability to develop into any type of cell.

Das wanted to know what set these more hearty cells apart and so began sorting them based on what molecules they contained.

Das and his colleagues discovered that of the embryonic stem cells that had survived the oxygen deprivation, half had high levels of HIF2-alpha (a protein that turns up the production of antioxidant molecules) and low levels of p53 (a protein that normally encourages cells to die when they have too much DNA damage). These levels of HIF2-alpha and p53 are enough, Das showed, to keep the cells from differentiating by turning off cellular pathways typically involved in the process.

But the other half of the stem cells that had kept their "stemness" had relatively normal levels of HIF2-alpha and p53, he and his colleagues report in their paper. There was no clear explanation as to how they would remain undifferentiated without the help of high HIF2-alpha and low p53 unless the other cells were helping them out.

"When I saw this data, I began to suspect that maybe there was altruism going on," said Das.

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Stanford researcher identifies unusual 'altruistic' stem cell behavior with possible link to cancer

Breast stem-cell research: Receptor teamwork is required and a new pathway may be involved

Public release date: 30-May-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Dian Land dj.land@hosp.wisc.edu 608-261-1034 University of Wisconsin-Madison

MADISON Breast-cancer researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have found that two related receptors in a robust signaling pathway must work together as a team to maintain normal activity in mammary stem cells.

Mammary stem cells produce various kinds of breast cell types. They may also drive the development and growth of malignant breast tumors.

Published recently in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, the research also suggests that a new signaling pathway may be involved, a development that eventually could take cancer-drug manufacturers in a new direction.

"We wanted to know if we could use this knowledge to inform us about what might be the transition that occurs to start tumor growth and maintain it," says senior author Dr. Caroline Alexander, professor of oncology at the McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research at the School of Medicine and Public Health.

The paper describes new information about the Wnt signaling pathway. Wnt signaling underlies numerous activities in normal development, but when the system is unregulated, cancer often occurs.

"Wnt signaling is very important for both stem cells and tumor growth. We need to know the details of the signaling process so that we can use the positive aspects of Wnt signaling for regenerative medicine, and eliminate the negative cancer-causing aspects," says Alexander, a member of the UW Carbone Cancer Center (CCC).

Regenerative biologists typically add Wnt proteins together with other agents to guide the differentiation of lung, bone and heart stem cells, she notes.

The UW researchers zeroed in on two related Wnt receptors on the cell surface--LRP5 and LRP6. The receptors normally respond to Wnt ligands that approach cells to initiate a signaling cascade inside.

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Breast stem-cell research: Receptor teamwork is required and a new pathway may be involved

Calgary scientists claim they’ve made breakthrough with stem cell production

CALGARY Calgary scientists say they have revolutionized stem cell production and have found a way to create the super cells without the risk of cancer.

Two researchers at the University of Calgary have created a device that allows them to produce millions of cells that can then be reprogrammed to make stem cells.

Dr. Derrick Rancourt and Dr. Roman Krawetz say they have perfected a new bioreactor technology that allows them to make millions of pluripotent stem cells much more quickly than ever before.

Pluripotent stem cells come from two main sources; embryos and adult cells that have been reprogrammed by scientists.

Scientists turn on four specific genes to reprogram the cells into stem cells which results in pluripotent stem cells or iPS cells.

Pluripotent stem cells have the potential to differentiate into almost any cell in the body.

The even better news is, we made these stem cells without introducing the cancer gene at all, says Rancourt, coauthor of the research, published in the May issue of the prestigious journal Nature Methods. These stem cells are an outstanding alternative to embryonic stem cells.

Up until now, scientists were limited in their research because it usually takes one million adult cells to make a single stem cell and the resulting stem cells are much more likely to cause cancer.

Scientists can make a whole mouse from iPS cells, says Krawetz. The challenge they face is, within two years, the mouse gets cancer.

The U of C team has found a way around those limitations.

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Calgary scientists claim they’ve made breakthrough with stem cell production

Calgary scientists make stem cell breakthrough

Date: Friday May. 25, 2012 9:27 AM ET

CALGARY Calgary scientists say they have revolutionized stem cell production and have found a way to create the super cells without the risk of cancer.

A pair of researchers at the University of Calgary have created a device that allows them to produce millions of cells which can then be reprogrammed to make stem cells.

Dr. Derrick Rancourt and Dr. Roman Krawetz say they have perfected a new bioreactor technology that allows them to make millions of pluripotent stem cells much more quickly than ever before.

Pluripotent stem cells come from two main sources; embryos and adult cells that have been reprogrammed by scientists.

Scientists turn on four specific genes to reprogram the cells into stem cells which results in pluripotent stem cells or iPS cells.

Pluripotent stem cells have the potential to differentiate into almost any cell in the body.

"The even better news is, we made these stem cells without introducing the cancer gene at all," says Rancourt, co-author of the research, published in the May issue of the prestigious journal Nature Methods. "These stem cells are an outstanding alternative to embryonic stem cells."

Up until now, scientists were limited in their research because it usually takes one million adult cells to make a single stem cell and the resulting stem cells are much more likely to cause cancer.

"Scientists can make a whole mouse from iPS cells," says Krawetz. "The challenge they face is, within two years, the mouse gets cancer."

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Calgary scientists make stem cell breakthrough

Nobelist Speaks Out on Genetic Modification, Synthetic Biology, Stem Cell Research

ASTANA, Kazakhstan, May 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Sir Richard Roberts, the eminent British biologist and Nobel Prize laureate, said today European opposition to genetically modified organisms is political rather than scientific in nature.

He also said "personal medicine" based on human genome research holds large-scale promise to improve the health of the world's people on an individualized basis.

Roberts, who won the Nobel in 1993 for his shared discovery of split genes, made his remarks at the Astana Economic Forum, a global conference of scientists, academics, multinational executives and government leaders.

"On a political level, governments must embrace genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and not give way to European prophets of doom, who oppose the use of GMOs for purely political reasons," said Roberts. "It is important to note there is a complete absence of evidence that GMOs can cause any harm. Indeed to any well-informed scientist, traditionally bred plants seem much more likely to be harmful than GMOs."

Roberts predicted growing knowledge of the human genome will yield better medical treatments and diagnostics. "It is just as important that we learn more about the bacteria that colonize our bodies since they are an essential part of what it means to be human," he said.

He also predicated synthetic biology will enable scientists to build novel microorganisms from "scratch."

"Most exciting is the promise of stem cells where the challenge is to understand how they drive their differentiation into all of the other cell types in our bodies," Roberts said. "While I do not advocate prolonging life indefinitely, I am very much in favor of ensuring that as we age, the quality of our life does not diminish."

The annual Astana Economic Forum this year has drawn thousands of participants from more than 80 nations to this rapidly growing Central Asian nation. There has been much focus at the current sessions on the Greek financial crisis and turbulence in the Euro currency, in addition to the broader economic, scientific and international trade issues that are a traditional mainstay at Astana.

Deal making is a big part of both the official and the unofficial agenda at Astana. Multinationals represented include Chevron, Toyota, Nestle, Microsoft, BASF, Total, General Electric.

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Nobelist Speaks Out on Genetic Modification, Synthetic Biology, Stem Cell Research