Stem Cell Media Interview With Dr. Adrian Harel: Fighting to End ALS, Once and for All

NEW YORK, NY and PETACH TIKVAH, ISRAEL--(Marketwire - Dec 4, 2012) - Sai Rosen of http://www.InvestorStemCell.com (Stem Cell Media, LLC) recently sat down with Dr. Adrian Harel, Chief Executive Officer for Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. ( OTCQB : BCLI ).Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. is a biotechnology company developing autologous stem cell therapies for highly debilitating neurodegenerative disorders, such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) (Lou Gehrig's disease), Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Parkinson's disease (PD) and Spinal Cord Injury. These diseases have limited treatment options and as such represent unmet medical needs.

Dr. Harel has over 30 years' experience in international business development, marketing, clinical development, fund raising and building strategic partnerships. In January 2011, he came to Brainstorm and leveraged all his experience to transform the company from a struggling pre-clinical biotech to the world's leader in clinical stage neurodegenerative treatment for ALS.The company is nearing submission of an ALS Phase II, to be conducted at the renowned Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).

During his interview, Dr. Harel shared the following information:

Why are you interested in neurodegenerative disorders?

Dr. Harel: "I became fascinated in this area of research while working at Proneuron Biotechnologies.We had created the 'world center' for paralysis.I had the pleasure to work with Christopher Reeve and other clinical leaders.We pioneered these early stage cellular treatments and I was pleased to have played a significant role in regulatory and managing endeavors across multiple channels both internal and external."

What brought you to Brainstorm?

Dr. Harel: "I have spent my whole life helping others, working with teams that are inspired to find solutions to difficult biological problems with the end goal to ease the burden of suffering.ALS is in my opinion the worst of the worst when considering unmet neurodegenerative diseases.I believe our data from the ALS Phase I is showing measurable improvements in key areas of those afflicted and may be proven to be a treatment for ALS."

What is the credit market like?

Dr. Harel: "It has been difficult to engage in terms that are not burdensome to goals. It is a fine line to ensure solvency, manage dilution and move our clinical trials forward as expeditiously as possible. I was able to arrange favorable terms early this summer and closed in July on a $5.7 million Public Offering.We have been successful with securing non-dilutive grants.Since coming to Brainstorm in January, I have raised over $10 million."

What is next for Brainstorm?

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Stem Cell Media Interview With Dr. Adrian Harel: Fighting to End ALS, Once and for All

NeoStem to Present at Multiple Conferences in December

NEW YORK, Dec. 3, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NeoStem, Inc. (NYSE MKT:NBS) ("NeoStem" or the "Company"), an emerging leader in the fast growing cell therapy market, today announced that the Company and its subsidiary, Progenitor Cell Therapy ("PCT"), will present at multiple conferences in December.

World Stem Cell Summit

RedChip Small-Cap Equities Virtual Conference

Cell Therapy Manufacturing (Informa Life Sciences' 3rd Annual VIC Congress 2012)

American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition ("ASH")

NeoStem's abstract on VSELTM Technology titled "A Lin-CD45-CD34+ Population of Extracellular Vesicles in Human Blood That Mimics Very Small Embryonic-Like Stem Cells (VSELs) by Flow Cytometry" has been selected for publication online in December in conjunction with the ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition, December 8-11, 2012. The abstract will be available at http://bloodjournal.hematologylibrary.org/site/misc/ASH_Meeting_Abstracts_Info.xhtml.

About NeoStem, Inc.

NeoStem, continues to develop and build on its core capabilities in cell therapy, capitalizing on the paradigm shift occurring in medicine. We anticipate that cell therapy will have a significant role in the fight against chronic disease and in lessening the economic burden that these diseases pose to modern society. We are emerging as a technology and market leading company in this fast developing cell therapy industry. Our multi-faceted business strategy combines a state-of-the-art contract development and manufacturing subsidiary, PCT, with a medically important cell therapy product development program, enabling near and long-term revenue growth opportunities. We believe that, with our expertise and research capabilities and collaborations, we will achieve our mission of becoming a premier cell therapy company.

Our contract development and manufacturing service business supports the development of proprietary cell therapy products. NeoStem's most clinically advanced therapeutic, AMR-001, is being developed at Amorcyte, LLC ("Amorcyte"), which we acquired in October 2011. Amorcyte is developing a cell therapy for the treatment of cardiovascular disease and is enrolling patients in a Phase 2 trial to investigate AMR-001's efficacy in preserving heart function after a heart attack. Athelos Corporation ("Athelos"), which is 80%-owned by our subsidiary, PCT, is collaborating with Becton-Dickinson in the early clinical exploration of a T-cell therapy for autoimmune conditions. In addition, pre-clinical assets include our VSELTM Technology platform as well as our mesenchymal stem cell product candidate for regenerative medicine. Our service business and pipeline of proprietary cell therapy products work in concert to create a competitive advantage that we believe is unique to the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Supported by an experienced scientific and business management team and a substantial intellectual property estate, we are well positioned to succeed.

For more information, please visit http://www.neostem.com.

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NeoStem to Present at Multiple Conferences in December

VistaGen Therapeutics Becomes Member of Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine (CCRM) Consortium

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - Dec 3, 2012) - VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc. ( OTCBB : VSTA ), a biotechnology company applying stem cell technology for drug rescue, predictive toxicology and drug metabolism screening, has formalized its membership in the Toronto-based Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine's (CCRM) Industry Consortium.

"VistaGen's membership reflects our strong association with CCRM and its core programs and objectives, both directly and through our strategic relationships with Dr. Gordon Keller and the University Health Network (UHN).Our long-term sponsored research agreement with Dr. Keller, UHN and UHN's McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine offers both a solid foundation and unique opportunities for expanding the commercial applications of our Human Clinical Trials in a Test Tube platform by building multi-party collaborations with CCRM and members of its Industry Consortium," says Shawn Singh, VistaGen CEO. "These collaborations have the potential to transform medicine and accelerate significant advances in human health and wellness that stem cell technologies and regenerative medicine promise."

"Even before VistaGen joined CCRM's Industry Consortium it was active in the Toronto regenerative medicine community and advising us as we prepared to launch in 2011," explains Dr. Michael May, CEO of the Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine. "I'm confident that our relationship will grow stronger with VistaGen as a formal partner and I look forward to us working closely together on projects that will accelerate drug discovery and benefit patients."

CCRM is a not-for-profit, public-private consortium funded by the Government of Canada, six Ontario-based institutional partners and more than 20 companies representing the key sectors of the regenerative medicine industry. CCRM supports the development of foundational technologies that accelerate the commercialization of stem cell- and biomaterials-based products and therapies. Other members of CCRM's Industry Consortium include such leading global companies as Pfizer, GE Healthcare and Lonza.

The industry leaders that comprise the CCRM consortium benefit from proprietary access to certain licensing opportunities, academic rates on fee-for-service contracts at CCRM and opportunities to participate in large collaborative projects, among other advantages.VistaGen is especially well positioned through its existing relationships with key members.

Gordon Keller, Ph.D. is Director of the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine at UHN. A CCRM partner, the McEwen Centre is a world-renowned centre for stem cell biology and regenerative medicine and a world-class stem cell research facility. He is also a Professor at the University of Toronto in the Department of Medical Biophysics and Senior Scientist of the Ontario Cancer Institute in Toronto.Dr. Keller's lab is one of the world leaders in successfully applying principles from the study of developmental biology of many animal systems to the differentiation of pluripotent stem cell systems, resulting in reproducible, high-yield production of human heart, liver, blood and vascular cells.The results and procedures developed in Dr. Keller's lab are often quoted and used by academic scientists worldwide.

UHN, a major landmark in Canada's healthcare system, is one of the world's largest research hospitals, with major research in transplantation, cardiology, neurosciences, oncology, surgical innovation, infectious diseases and genomic medicine. Providing care to the community for more than two centuries, UHN brings together the talent and resources needed to achieve global impact and provide exemplary patient care, research and education.

About VistaGen Therapeutics

VistaGen is a biotechnology company applying human pluripotent stem cell technology for drug rescue, predictive toxicology and drug metabolism screening. VistaGen's drug rescue activities combine its human pluripotent stem cell technology platform, Human Clinical Trials in a Test Tube, with modern medicinal chemistry to generate new chemical variants (Drug Rescue Variants) of once-promising small-molecule drug candidates. These are drug candidates discontinued by pharmaceutical companies, the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) or university laboratories after substantial investment and development due to heart or liver toxicity or metabolism issues. VistaGen uses its pluripotent stem cell technology to generate early indications, or predictions, of how humans will ultimately respond to new drug candidates before they are ever tested in humans, bringing human biology to the front end of the drug development process.

Additionally, VistaGen's small molecule drug candidate, AV-101, is completing Phase 1 development for treatment of neuropathic pain. Neuropathic pain, a serious and chronic condition causing pain after an injury or disease of the peripheral or central nervous system, affects millions of people worldwide.To date, VistaGen has been awarded over $8.5 million from the NIH for development of AV-101.

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VistaGen Therapeutics Becomes Member of Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine (CCRM) Consortium

Stem cell-derived dopaminergic neurons rescue motor defects in Parkinsonian monkeys

ScienceDaily (Dec. 3, 2012) Researchers have derived dopaminergic neurons from bone marrow stem cells in monkeys.

Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that is characterized by tremors, rigidity, slowness of movement, and difficulty walking. It is caused by loss of the neurons that produce the neurotransmitter dopamine (known as dopaminergic neurons). One of the primary goals in Parkinson's disease research is to develop a replacement for dopaminergic neurons.

In a new study, researchers led by Takuya Hayashi at the RIKEN Center for Molecular Imaging Science in Kobe, Japan, derived dopaminergic neurons from bone marrow stem cells in monkeys. The cells were retrieved during a standard bone marrow aspiration and then treated with growth factors that directed the stem cells to become dopaminergic neurons. The monkeys that donated the stem cells were treated with a chemical to induce Parkinson's disease and then received a transplant of the new dopaminergic neurons that had been derived from their own bone marrow stem cells. Monkeys that received the transplant showed significant improvement in motor defects.

This study demonstrates that dopaminergic neurons derived from adult bone marrow stem cells can be safely used to improve motor function in Parkinson's disease in monkeys.

The research is published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

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Stem cell-derived dopaminergic neurons rescue motor defects in Parkinsonian monkeys

UA professor furthers stem cell research

By SARAH-JAYNE SIMON Published December 2, 2012 at 9:46pm Updated December 2, 2012 at 9:46pm

A UA professor has been recognized for his work as a pioneer in stem cell banking.

David Harris, professor of immunobiology, was awarded the Arizona BioIndustry Association 2012 award for 20 Years of Discovery and Innovation.

Harris recognition is the culmination of decades of work in the field of stem cell research. Harris came to the UA 23 years ago from the University of North Carolina and said he was interested in improving the bone marrow transplant process. As a result, he began to use a process called cord blood banking. In 1991, Harris became the first person to bank stem cells for future use, which includes saving them for future treatments.

Its nice to end up being recognized for something that you have worked on for a long time, Harris said. Taking something and making it important for everyday life for people to improve their life is amazing. From starting with animal models and moving to human beings is huge; its nice to see it go from one point to another.

Harris said he banked stem cells for future use by preserving his first childs cord blood stem cells. A year later, Harris founded the Arizona Cord Blood Bank, which later became the Cord Blood Registry. Harris continues to serve as Chief Science Officer of the company, which is the largest cord blood stem cell bank in the world.

I had always been interested in science and particularly in biological sciences, Harris said. I was quite interested in sciences in general and got my degree in immunology. The general interest in science has always been there since an early age. Stem cells is the one I find to be most interesting these days.

The Arizona BioIndustry Association is made up of businesses as well as research and government organizations and those associated with other professions involved in biosciences. The annual Arizona BioIndustry Association Awards was held at the Phoenix Convention Center this year.

In the late 1980s, it was discovered that you could find left over blood cells in the umbilical cord after the baby was born, Harris said. Early on, we realized this was going to be an important source of stem cell transplant. After 15 years, we realized those stem cells present in umbilical cords had gone from the research stage into the treatment process.

Harris said that the support from the UA community during the progress of his reasearch is what enabled him to come this far.

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UA professor furthers stem cell research

Seeing results from stem cell treatment

Christine Wood/Photo

Alison Johnstone kisses and hugs her grandson Rylan who is showing signs of improvement after receiving stem cell treatments in China last month.

Christine Wood/Staff Writer

Since returning home from having stem cell treatments in China last month, five-year-old Rylan Johnstone has taken his first unaided steps, given his first hug, spoken his first complete sentence and shown his first reaction to light much to the delight of his family.

We are absolutely overjoyed with the changes weve noticed already, said Rylans grandma Alison. Even if thats all that happens, it was definitely worth it to go, but I think there are more changes to come.

The family spent nearly a year fundraising more than $34,000 for the trip to China to have the stem cell treatments done in the hope that Rylan, who is blind and autistic, would gain some sight and mobility and benefit from reduced autism symptoms.

It seems much of that wish list has come true just weeks after returning from China, and the stem cells will keep working, Alison said.

The stem cell injections in his eyes should keep working for at least six months, she said, noting one report from a parent showed a child gaining sight a year after the stem cell treatments.

Rylan seems to squint now when a bright light is put before him, and although he cant communicate whats happening, the Johnstones are hopeful hell show more signs of sight in the weeks to come.

One of the best moments for Alison was when she got her first hug from her grandson, shortly after returning home.

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Seeing results from stem cell treatment

Stem Cells Provide Hope For A Potential Treatment of Glaucoma

Editor's Choice Main Category: Stem Cell Research Also Included In: Eye Health / Blindness Article Date: 04 Dec 2012 - 0:00 PST

Current ratings for: Stem Cells Provide Hope For A Potential Treatment of Glaucoma

Irreversible blindness is most often caused by glaucoma in today's world. About 1 in 50 people over the age of 40 in the UK struggle with glaucoma. The odds increase for people aged 75 years and older, affecting 1 in 10. Since the condition is age-related, it is becoming more prevalent as the UK population gets older.

Glaucoma is often an insidious, progressive condition which results in harm to the optic nerve. Once the person realizes that damage has been done, some of loss of vision has already taken place.

Risk factors associated with glaucoma include:

The team experimented with a potential treatment that involves using the patient's own stem cells. Professor Raisman was able to halve the loss of optic nerve fibers caused by raised eye pressure by transferring a few olfactory ensheathing cells into the area of the optic nerve. This also caused reduced the harm to the optic nerve tissue.

The progression of glaucoma can be stopped by a few treatments, including medication and eye surgery to lower the pressure in the eye. One previous report indicated that eye drops containing nerve growth factor could halt glaucoma symptoms.

However, no therapies can treat vision loss, and unfortunately, the progression towards blindness cannot be prevented in a significant number of people.

This study increases the chance that a simple surgical procedure, using cells taken from the patient, could guide scientists to a future technique that could stop the horrible outcome of glaucoma, Professor Raisman said, even though the procedure is still at the experimental stage.

Professor Khaw added:

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Stem Cells Provide Hope For A Potential Treatment of Glaucoma

Autologous Cell Therapy Market expected to reach $2.2 billion by 2017, growing at a CAGR of 21% : MarketsandMarkets

Autologous Cell Therapy Market reserach report gives a detailed analysis about state of the art of both autologous stem cell and non-stem cell treatments. It includes the current advances and applications of the technology and trends in terms of market size and growth of autologous cellular therapies in medical treatments globally.

(PRWEB) November 30, 2012

Browse ACT market research data tables/figures spread through 111 slides and in-depth TOC on Autologous Cell Therapy (ACT) Market (2012 - 2017).

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/autologous-cell-therapy-market-837.html

Early buyers will receive 10% customization on reports.

There is a wide market potential and favorable landscape for adoption across many geographical locations of the world. During the forecast period, these technologies are expected to revolutionize the area of bio-pharma and personalized medicine. High incidence and lack of effective treatment for several diseases will drive the ACT technology in developed and developing nations.

Investment activities, for past five years are actively held in research and developments, attracting interests of cell therapy industry firms, medical centers and academic institutions. ACT potential can be demonstrated by mergers, collaborations, acquisitions and partnerships that happened actively between the ACT technology developing companies in past three years. Development of sophisticated automation devices for cell expansion and culture process for use in the treatment is one of the emerging trends of ACT market.

The global market for ACT is valued around $650 million by 2011 with a CAGR of 21%. Several products and technologies of ACT are in pipeline which is expected to hit the market during the forecast period, which will result in increased growth rate.

About MarketsandMarkets

MarketsandMarkets is a global market research and consulting company based in the U.S. We publish strategically analyzed market research reports and serve as a business intelligence partner to Fortune 500 companies across the world. MarketsandMarkets also provides multi-client reports, company profiles, databases, and custom research services.

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Autologous Cell Therapy Market expected to reach $2.2 billion by 2017, growing at a CAGR of 21% : MarketsandMarkets

Stemlogix Reports Idaho Veterinarians Perform First in U.S. Combination Regenerative Medicine Treatment on Injured Horse

Procedure Combines Point-of-Care Stem Cell Therapy and Enriched Mesenchymal Stem Cell Injection

NAMPA, ID--(Marketwire - Nov 29, 2012) - Veterinarians from Idaho Equine Hospital, including Dr. William Maupin and Dr. Stuart Shoemaker, performed the first-ever combination regenerative medicine treatment on a six-year-old Quarter Reined Cow horse that suffered a significant injury to its distal straight sesamoidean ligament.

This injury can be challenging for veterinarians to successfully treat and return the horse to athletic competition.

The veterinary team and the scientific team at Stemlogix, LLC determined that the best treatment protocol would be to treat him with point-of-care stem cell therapy using the Stemlogix In-Clinic Regenerative Medicine System and then perform a follow up treatment a few weeks later using culture expanded mesenchymal stem cells. He received a dose of the point-of-care stem cell therapy three weeks ago and three weeks later received an injection of culture expanded mesenchymal stem cells.

Stemlogix, LLC pioneered the landmark stem cell therapy treatment regimen and this is the first time this combination stem cell therapy treatment has ever been performed on a horse. The team that treated the horse believes this revolutionary treatment protocol will give him the best chance for an improved quality of life and provides the best opportunity for restoring the injured tissue back to its normal structure instead of healing with scar tissue.

"Due to the severity of the injury and the poor circulation present in the sesamoidean ligament we elected to perform a two-step therapeutic approach," said Dr. Maupin. "We first injected adipose derived stem cell therapy produced patient-side to initiate an environment of healing.

"In addition, we injected culture expanded mesenchymal stem cells. This secondary expanded and enriched mesenchymal stem cell therapy treatment may further restore normal tissue structure or actual ligament tissue."

To provide him with this groundbreaking treatment, two small fat samples were taken from the base of his tail via a minimally invasive lipoaspirate procedure. Fat tissue is the richest source of stem cells for both human patients and animal patients. One of the tissue samples was processed on-site to provide a same-day, point-of-care stem cell treatment while the other tissue sample was sent to the Stemlogix state-of-the-art cGMP laboratory where the mesenchymal stem cells were isolated and expanded for three weeks. A portion of his stem cells were also cryopreserved for future use.

The Stemlogix In-Clinic Regenerative Medicine System rapidly produces a composition of stem cells at the point-of-care containing an abundance of mesenchymal stem cells, endothelial progenitor cells, among other cell types. This assortment of stem cells provides additional growth factors and therapeutic proteins to stimulate healing. This system offers veterinarians an optimal treatment tool that is convenient and effective in treating debilitating equine diseases and injuries.

On the other hand, the culture expanded stem cell therapy contains a high number of purified mesenchymal stem cells which makes this therapy better suited for treating specific indications such as orthopedic injuries, autoimmune diseases and other degenerative diseases. Mesenchymal stem cells are multi-potent or have the ability to form into a variety of new tissues such as bone, cartilage, ligaments, and tendons.

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Stemlogix Reports Idaho Veterinarians Perform First in U.S. Combination Regenerative Medicine Treatment on Injured Horse

International Stem Cell Corporation Announces Significant Progress Towards Clinical Development

CARLSBAD, CA--(Marketwire - Nov 29, 2012) - International Stem Cell Corporation ( OTCQB : ISCO ) (www.internationalstemcell.com) ("ISCO" or "the Company"), a California-based biotechnology company focused on the development of therapeutic products, today announced the achievement of a critical milestone towards the clinical development of its stem cell therapy.

The Company's research and development team has created the world's first human clinical-grade stem cell lines with the ability to immune-match millions of individuals. ISCO's existing research-grade parthenogenetic stem cell lines, one of which contains the most common immune type in the Caucasian population and may be an immune-match to approximately 70 million people, are used in pre-clinical development. These new clinical-grade stem cell lines position ISCO to be able to conduct clinical trials in the United States.

Dr. Semechkin, CEO and Co-Chairman of the Board, comments, "We've been working diligently for three years to perfect this technology, which was first developed by our scientific founder, Dr. Elena Revazova in Moscow, and I'm excited to report that we have been able to derive new stem cell lines in the United States under the US and California regulatory frameworks. I'm optimistic that the new parthenogenetic stem cell lines, by providing a potentially unlimited supply of cells and tissue for transplantation, will be of great benefit to the medical community and patients world-wide."

The new stem cell lines, created using ISCO's proprietary technology, are the first of a new generation of clinical-grade human parthenogenetic stem cell (hpSC) lines created in the United States under US regulatory oversight and designed to meet FDA regulations. The US Food and Drug Administration developed Good Tissue Practice (GTP) and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards to ensure the safety of products developed for clinical use. Conforming to GMP is extremely important as it means that the cells can be used in clinical development programs.

The new lines have been confirmed by independent third-party testing to be "homozygous" in the HLA coding regions meaning that they have a simple genetic profile in the critical areas of the DNA that code for immune rejection. This feature is one of the most important differences of hpSC when compared with embryonic stem cells and a distinct clinical advantage because of their ability to be immune-matched to the patient. We expect the new lines to immune-match millions of individuals, and will be added to ISCO's existing bank providing a platform from which to develop cells and tissue for clinical use.

"The importance of this breakthrough cannot be overstated," commented Dr. Craw, Executive Vice President of ISCO. "Expanding our collection is not only important for our therapeutic programs, but also further establishes our leadership position in human stem cell technology. Achieving this critical milestone moves us along the path to make the transition into a clinical stage company."

About International Stem Cell Corporation

International Stem Cell Corporation is focused on the therapeutic applications of human parthenogenetic stem cells (hpSCs) and the development and commercialization of cell-based research and cosmetic products. ISCO's core technology, parthenogenesis, results in the creation of pluripotent human stem cells from unfertilized oocytes (eggs) hence avoiding ethical issues associated with the use or destruction of viable human embryos. ISCO scientists have created the first parthenogenetic, homozygous stem cell line that can be a source of therapeutic cells for hundreds of millions of individuals of differing genders, ages and racial background with minimal immune rejection after transplantation. hpSCs offer the potential to create the first true stem cell bank, UniStemCell. ISCO also produces and markets specialized cells and growth media for therapeutic research worldwide through its subsidiary Lifeline Cell Technology (www.lifelinecelltech.com), and stem cell-based skin care products through its subsidiary Lifeline Skin Care (www.lifelineskincare.com). More information is available at http://www.internationalstemcell.com.

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International Stem Cell Corporation Announces Significant Progress Towards Clinical Development