American CryoStem to Collaborate With Rutgers University on Adipose-Derived Stem Cell Research

EATONTOWN, N.J., May 14, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- American CryoStem Corporation (CRYO), a leading strategic developer, marketer and global licensor of patented adipose tissue-based and cellular technologies for the Regenerative and Personalized Medicine industries, today announced that it has entered into Material Transfer Agreements with three leading research scientists at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, distinguished as one of the world's premier universities for stem cell research and training.

American CryoStem has teamed with Kathryn Uhrich, PhD, Professor and Dean, Mathematical & Physical Sciences; KiBum Lee, PhD, Assistant Professor of Chemistry & Chemical Biology; and Prabhas Moghe, PhD, Professor and Vice-Chair of Biomedical Engineering and Professor of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, all of whom will be utilizing the Company's autologous Adipose-Derived Stem Cells (ADSCs) and patented, serum free, GMP grade, cell culture and differentiation mediums to research, develop and commercialize innovative new cellular therapies addressing the $5 billion global wound care market.

"American CryoStem was founded in New Jersey in 2008, completed its initial research and development work in New Jersey, and built its FDA-registered tissue laboratory in the Burlington County College (BCC) High Technology and Life Science Incubators, where we perfected and validated our proprietary and patented technologies," John S. Arnone, CEO of American CryoStem, said. "Rutgers was the next logical step for development and expansion of our cellular therapy products. We are very proud to be collaborating with the State's top bio-tech academic research institution and to be part of the global development of cellular therapies."

The initial stage of collaboration with Rutgers University will provide for Drs. Uhrich, Lee and Moghe to identify, understand and publish their findings on engineered biomaterial interaction with adipose-derived stem cells, the Company's cell culture media and the resulting tissue growth when used in the treatment of chronic or hard-to-heal wounds, such as diabetic and pressure ulcers. American CryoStem developed and patented a new cell culture medium for growing human stromal cells (including all cells found in human skin, fat and other connective tissue) that is animal product free and suitable for human clinical and therapeutic uses. Future stages of collaboration will focus on testing and data collection with a goal of progressing to clinical studies and trials with an end result of the commercialization of effective, new cellular therapy products.

Anthony Dudzinski, COO of American CryoStem, noted, "Rutgers' intellectual resources and extensive research experience in the field of Regenerative Medicine, coupled with our Company's proprietary technologies and expertise with adipose-derived stem cells, provide a powerful combination of skill, knowledge and a common mission -- to advance the study, development and commercialization of exciting new stem cell therapies that are capable of effectively treating human illnesses and diseases."

The Rutgers-American CryoStem interactions were conceived by Dr. Kathryn Uhrich, the Dean of the Mathematical and Physical Sciences at the Rutgers School of Arts of Sciences. Dr. Uhrich is widely recognized as one of the leading innovators in polymer research. She is engaged in the study of the synthesis and characterization of biocompatible polymers for medical and dental applications, such as drug delivery and tissue engineering.

Dr. KiBum Lee obtained his PhD in Chemistry from the Northwestern University and completed his postdoctoral research in stem cell biology at the Scripps Research Institute. His primary research interest is in developing and integrating nanotechnologies and chemical functional genomics to modulate signaling pathways in cells (e.g. stem cells and cancer cells) towards specific cell lineages or behaviors.

Dr. Prabhas Moghe is a leading expert in stem cell bioengineering and profiling cell-biomaterial interactions. An International Fellow of Biomaterials Science and Engineering, he has directed a NSF funded IGERT Program on Stem Cell Science and Engineering, the first of its PhD training program in the USA and continues to direct a NIH CORE resource center on polymeric biomaterials on high content imaging technologies to purify and forecast stem cell fates in complex microenvironments. Dr. Moghe's team will investigate and benchmark stromal cell phenotypes in three-dimensional biomaterials.

About American CryoStem Corporation

A pioneer in the fields of Regenerative and Personalized Medicine, American CryoStem is a developer, marketer and global licensor of patented adipose tissue-based cellular technologies and related proprietary services with a focus on clinical processing, commercial bio-banking and application development for adipose (fat) tissue and autologous adipose-derived regenerative cells (ADRCs). The Company maintains a strategic portfolio of intellectual property and patent applications that form its Adipose Tissue Processing Platform, which supports and promotes a growing pipeline of biologic products and processes, clinical services and international licensing opportunities. Through its ACS Laboratories division, the Company operates an FDA registered, cGMP compliant human tissue processing, cryo-storage, cell culture and differentiation media development facility in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. For more information, please visit http://www.americancryostem.com and http://www.acslaboratories.com.

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American CryoStem to Collaborate With Rutgers University on Adipose-Derived Stem Cell Research

Cellular alternatives

Stem Cell Therapy has taken the medical community by storm. Proof of this is that this previously unexplored branch of science merited its own convention, graced by the Secretary of Health, and it now has its own medical association in the country, called the Philippine Society for Stem Cell Medicine. Filipinos and foreigners are lining up in clinics to get this wellness procedure in hopes of curing conditions, and to stop the passage of time.

With the booming popularity of the treatments, there have been several offshoots from the stem, if you may, that promise basically the same results. Some seem to have valid claims, while others are more dubious and dangerous. Here are two treatments that have caught the MB team's attention as they offer alternatives to the autologous stem cell treatment which is offered by most centers in the country.

Villa Medica's Fresh Cell Therapy

While Autologous Stem Cell procedures use cells harvested from the own bone marrow and peripheral blood of the patient, Fresh Cell Therapy is done with cells from sheep fetuses. The procedure is done by physicians in a clinic in Germany, which also processes the freshly-harvested cells into personalized formulations according to the patient's particular health needs. "With autologous stem cell therapy, you gather and process cells from one source, such as bone marrow, and target it to become a heart cell, or a lung cell. We believe that like heals like: The heart heals the heart, lungs heal lungs, and spleen heals spleen," explains Michael Loh, group managing director at Villa Medica International.

Dr. Geoffrey Huertgen, Villa Medica's chief medical director, was recently in Manila, and he adds, "The injected fresh young cells then imprint their vigor upon the old and degenerating cells, stimulating them to function properly again and causing the organ to regenerate and revitalize." Huertgen also talked about the safety and efficacy of the procedure. At the most, he says, patients may experience discomfort from rashes, itching, and skin redness. Loh adds, "The technology we are using has been around since 1931. There have been no reported deaths from the procedures. We are talking about something that has been around for a long time, while autologous therapy has only been practiced for about eight years."

They also answer concerns about livestock contamination, saying that they have basically kept the same flock for the past 50 years, raised as a medical herd. The stem cells are harvested from a Merino Sheep fetus between the end of the third month and start of the fourth, and the cells are processed fresh to specific needs of around 20 patients.

There have been cases where patients would travel to Europe and have the procedure done in a hotel by a doctor who would just drop in and administer a shot, then leave. At Villa Medica, patients are checked into a luxurious suite of sorts, but there are medical professionals (some of them Filipinos) always on standby. Lab tests and screenings are done prior to the procedure, to ensure safety, and patients are encouraged to do a little light activity a day after the shots are given.

Dr. Huertgen says the treatment is ideal for conditions that do not respond to traditional forms of treatment. "It is indicated not only for anti-aging and rejuvenation, but also for neurological problems, circulatory problems, kidney and liver issues, endocrine and hormonal disorders, musculo-skeletal and joint issues, as well as genetic and developmental dysfunctions in infants and children." The group presented results of before and after photos of patients, including former President Joseph Ejercito Estrada, and it was remarkable how the glow of renewed youth returned even though they checked in for an entirely different reason.

Inquiries may be coursed through Cris Aquino at 671-7489 or 0917-5123004 or via email at caquino@villa-medica.com

StemEnhance Capsules from Stemtech

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Cellular alternatives

International Stem Cell Corporation Announces First Quarter 2013 Financial Results and Provides Business Update

CARLSBAD, CA--(Marketwired - May 14, 2013) - International Stem Cell Corporation (OTCQB: ISCO) (www.internationalstemcell.com) ("ISCO" or "the Company"), a California-based biotechnology company developing novel stem cell based therapies, today announced financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2013.

"We've made excellent progress in the first quarter, showing, for the first time, how neuronal cells developed from our unique and powerful stem cell platform can be used to treat Parkinson's disease in the most widely accepted primate model of the disease, and presenting these results at one of the most important neurology conferences in the world," said Dr. Andrey Semechkin, the Company's CEO and Co-Chairman. "We have also published our innovative and efficient new method of creating these neuronal cells in a well respected peer-reviewed scientific journal, further consolidating ISCO's leadership position," continued Dr. Semechkin.

"In addition, the strong sales growth achieved by our subsidiaries confirms that the sales and marketing tactics we have been implementing are starting to deliver the results we anticipated and begin to partially offset our core Research and Development expenses. At the same time we continue to challenge ourselves to become ever more efficient and this continued vigilance is reflected in both the reduced general and administrative expenses and increased gross margin."

Q1 2013 Highlights:

Three Months Ended March 31, 2013

Revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2013 were $1.29 million, an increase of approximately 19% compared to $1.08 million for the same period in 2012.Sales for Lifeline Skin Care (LSC) and Lifeline Cell Technology (LCT) increased by 19% and 20%, respectively.LSC and LCT accounted for 51% and 49% of total revenue in the three months ended March 31, 2013, respectively.

Cost of sales was $0.33 million, or 26% of revenue, compared to $0.32 million or 30% of revenue for the same period in 2012. Gross margins improved as a result of efficiencies in our manufacturing and supply chain and increased sales contribution from higher margin products.

General and administrative expenses fell by 30% to $1.42 million, driven primarily by lower personnel-related expenses resulting from lower headcount, lower stock-based compensation expenses and lower professional and corporate expenses.Marketing expenses increased 3% compared to the first quarter of 2012 to $0.51 million, primarily reflecting higher spending on advertising and promotions for the Company's skin care business.

Cash and cash equivalents totaled $1.91 million at March 31, 2013 compared to $0.65 million as of December 31, 2012. The Company received approximately $3.27 million, net of stock issuance costs, from the issuance of 16,325,000 shares of common stock in the first quarter of 2013. The Company invested approximately $0.17 million in capital expenditures in the first three months of 2013 compared to $0.22 million in the same period in 2012.

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International Stem Cell Corporation Announces First Quarter 2013 Financial Results and Provides Business Update

Can you drink stem cells?

A new supplement made from algae claims to aid in the natural release of adult stem cells in the bone marrow By Anne A. Jambora Philippine Daily Inquirer

STEM cell nutritional supplement

Stem cells you can ingest? Not exactly. But this supplement claims it can increase the number of circulating adult stem cells in your body by up to four million. You simply take three capsules a day.

The 30-percent increase, however small compared to the surge of 10-20 million adult stem cells you get from a stem-cell treatment, is significant enough to keep you alert and energized, and even to repair damaged cells in your body, said Bernie Mercado, general manager of StemTech Philippines, the makers of the supplement StemEnhance.

Made from a natural-growing freshwater plant called Aphanizomenon flos-aquae (AFA), also known as blue-green algae, StemEnhance is said to aid in the natural release of adult stem cells in the bone marrow and support the migration of stem cells to areas where theyre needed, enhancing the bodys natural mechanism of organ and tissue renewal.

Simply put, StemEnhance is an adult stem cell nutritional supplement.

Stem cell treatment enables doctors to focus on a specific organ. Thats not how this supplement works. If you take StemEnhance to make your skin look supple and young, but you also have a kidney condition, it will first repair the area that needs urgent attention. It might take some time before you can see a physical manifestation of its effects, in this case, younger-looking skin. The more damaged the organ, the more stem cells it attracts, Mercado said.

According to StemTech HealthSciences Inc. chief science officer Christian Drapeau, the bone marrow adult stem cells have the ability to become virtually any kind of cell in the body. If you take, for instance, an adult stem cell and put it in the heart, it becomes a heart stem cell; put it in the muscle and it becomes a muscle cell.

Dogma

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Can you drink stem cells?

New stem cell isolation unit praised

13 May 2013 Last updated at 06:42 ET

Patients have praised a stem cell isolation unit which has opened at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth.

People from Devon and Cornwall who need protective isolation after a stem cell transplant now no longer have to travel to Bristol or London.

The unit is for leukaemia or lymphoma adult patients whose immune systems have been depleted by chemotherapy.

Paul Bates, a patient from Torpoint in Cornwall, described the new unit as "palatial".

After a transplant patients will spend from three to six weeks in the 2.7m state-of-the-art unit.

Stem cells are sometimes given to cancer patients to replace the red and white cells and platelets in blood which chemotherapy treatment has killed off.

Previously, the hospital was only able to carry out transplants if the stem cells were harvested directly from the patient or a relative, but can now also treat patients who need non-related donor stem cells.

The haematopoietic stem cell transplant unit, with 10 single en-suite rooms, has been built in the hospital's former Bracken ward.

"The facilities are so much better than the ones we had before," consultant haematologist Dr Hannah Hunter told BBC News.

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New stem cell isolation unit praised

Neil’s Story (Mobile Version) – Stem Cell Treatment = £25k, a Hug = Priceless – Video

Neil #39;s Story (Mobile Version) - Stem Cell Treatment = 25k, a Hug = Priceless
Neil #39;s battle to raise 25k for his stem cell treatment that will hopefully one day enable him to hug his three beautiful children again. http://www.neilsstory.co.u...

By: John Geary

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Neil's Story (Mobile Version) - Stem Cell Treatment = £25k, a Hug = Priceless - Video

Neil’s Story – Stem Cell Treatment = £25k, a Hug = Priceless – Video

Neil #39;s Story - Stem Cell Treatment = 25k, a Hug = Priceless
Neil #39;s battle to raise 25k for his stem cell treatment that will hopefully one day enable him to hug his three beautiful children again. http://www.neilsstory.co.u...

By: John Geary

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Neil's Story - Stem Cell Treatment = £25k, a Hug = Priceless - Video

Héma-Québec appeals for more black stem cell donors

Hma-Qubec is working with members of Montreal's black community to increase the number of blood and stem cell donors.

Qubc's black community is chronically underrepresented in blood banks and on the bone marrow transplant registry, making treatment more challenging for black patients.

"A lot of times people suffer from sickle cell anemia, and there are not enough donors from our ethnicity that give, so I think it's just a good way of helping out other people," said Mitchum Burnett, who gave blood for the fifth time on Friday.

He discovered all it takes is a cheek swab to register as a stem cell donor.

Yet of more than 39,000 Quebecers registered as stem cell donors, only 89 are black Quebecers.

Tamu Townsend got involved in drives like the one held on Friday after her brother Emru was diagnosed with leukemia. He died after a long-sought transplant didn't work.

"One thing I realized was drives for blood and for stem cells increase a lot of awareness," Townsend said. "In fact, I'm registered as a stem cell donor because of my brother's illness."

Naderge Ceneston, a nurse with Hma-Qubec who is also black, said people in the black community need to be educated, to know how critical is to become blood and stem cell donors.

"We still have work to do to let them know that when they come to give blood, it's to give for their community first," Ceneston said.

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Héma-Québec appeals for more black stem cell donors

UCLA stem cell researchers move toward treatment for rare genetic nerve disease

Public release date: 10-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Shaun Mason smason@mednet.ucla.edu 310-206-2805 University of California - Los Angeles

Led by Dr. Peiyee Lee and Dr. Richard Gatti, researchers at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA have used induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells to advance disease-in-a-dish modeling of a rare genetic disorder, ataxia telangiectasia (A-T).

Their discovery shows the positive effects of drugs that may lead to effective new treatments for the neurodegenerative disease. iPS cells are made from patients' skin cells, rather than from embryos, and they can become any type of cells, including brain cells, in the laboratory. The study appears online ahead of print in the journal Nature Communications.

People with A-T begin life with neurological deficits that become devastating through progressive loss of function in a part of the brain called the cerebellum, which leads to severe difficulty with movement and coordination. A-T patients also suffer frequent infections due to their weakened immune systems and have an increased risk for cancer. The disease is caused by lost function in a gene, ATM, that normally repairs damaged DNA in the cells and preserves normal function.

Developing a human neural cell model to understand A-T's neurodegenerative process and create a platform for testing new treatments was critical because the disease presents differently in humans and laboratory animals. Scientists commonly use mouse models to study A-T, but mice with the disease do not experience the more debilitating effects that humans do. In mice with A-T, the cerebellum appears normal and they do not exhibit the obvious degeneration seen in the human brain.

Lee and colleagues used iPS cellderived neural cells developed from skin cells of A-T patients with a specific type of genetic mutation to create a disease-in-a-dish model. In the laboratory, researchers were able to model the characteristics of A-T, such as the cell's lack of ATM protein and its inability to repair DNA damage. The model also allowed the researchers to identify potential new therapeutic drugs, called small molecule read-through (SMRT) compounds, that increase ATM protein activity and improve the model cells' ability to repair damaged DNA.

"A-T patients with no ATM activity have severe disease but patients with some ATM activity do much better," Lee said. "This makes our discovery promising, because even a small increase in the ATM activity induced by the SMRT drug can potentially translate to positive effects for patients, slowing disease progression and hopefully improving their quality of life."

These studies suggest that SMRT compounds may have positive effects on all other cell types in the body, potentially improving A-T patients' immune function and decreasing their susceptibility to cancer.

Additionally, the patient-specific iPS cellderived neural cells in this study combined with the SMRT compounds can be an invaluable tool for understanding the development and progression of A-T. This iPS cellneural cell A-T disease model also can be a platform to identify more potent SMRT drugs. The SMRT drugs identified using this model can potentially be applied to most other genetic diseases with the same type of mutations.

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UCLA stem cell researchers move toward treatment for rare genetic nerve disease

Bid for MS breakthrough

University of Adelaide researchers are working on a stem cell project they hope will lead to a new treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS).

They have started a three-year project using adult stem cells to directly target the damaged site in the central nervous system (CNS).

Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune inflammatory disease of the brain and spinal cord.

To control the disease, effective treatments need to control the immune response and repair damage to nerve-protection sheaths.

'We've already shown adult stem cells have great potential to control the immune response and promote repair of the central nervous system,' says Professor Shaun McColl in a statement timed to coincide with Kiss Goodbye to MS month. He said the trick was to get the stem cells to the right location.

'We aim to show we can modify stem cells to more effectively reach the central nervous system, and that we can use these cells to inhibit inflammation.

'If it works, there is great potential for a new therapy for this debilitating disease.'

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Bid for MS breakthrough