NEW YORK, May 31, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NeoStem, Inc. (NYSE Amex:NBS) ("NeoStem" or the "Company"), an international biopharmaceutical company focused on cell based therapies, announced today that Company management will present at six conferences in June. International Society for Cellular Therapy Annual Meeting National Investment Banking Association Conference International Society for Stem Cell Research 10th Annual Meeting The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) International Conference Alliance for Regenerative Medicine -- Clinical Outlooks for Regenerative Medicine 2012 Marcum's Inaugural MicroCap Conference About NeoStem, Inc. NeoStem, Inc. ("NeoStem") is a leader in the development and manufacture of cell therapies. NeoStem has a strategic combination of revenues, including that which is derived from the contract manufacturing services performed by Progenitor Cell Therapy, LLC, a NeoStem company. That manufacturing base is one of the few cGMP facilities available for contracting in the burgeoning cell therapy industry, and it is the combination of PCT's core expertise in manufacturing and NeoStem's extensive research capabilities that positions the company as a leader in cell therapy development. Amorcyte, LLC, also a NeoStem company, is developing a cell therapy for the treatment of cardiovascular disease. Amorcyte's lead compound, AMR-001, represents NeoStem's most clinically advanced therapeutic and is enrolling patients … Continue reading →

Gaborone could have stem cell storage facility this year LAWRENCE SERETSE Correspondent Speaking to Mmegi this week, Mngqibisa said Parliament was set to pave the way for the facility by means of legislation in July and that Cryo-Save intended approaching government about storing stem cells for every Motswana. "Stem cells are the basic building blocks of our bodies and are often referred to as 'master cells,'" she said. "And because stem cells have the potential to become almost any other cell in the body, stem cell therapies are the way of the future." Stem cell treatment is applied to over 70 diseases and disorders, among them leukemia, lymphoma, blood cancers and bone marrow disorders like aplastic anaemia and sickle cell disease. Mngqibisa said patients requiring a haemopoietic stem transplant will receive cells from one or three sources of bone marrow, circulating blood or umbilical cord blood. "It is much easier to match transplant patients with immune naive cord blood stem cells than with the other sources of stem cells," she explained. "Umbilical cord blood stem cells are the most naive stem cells, hence they are best harvested from the baby at birth before they are exposed to infections and immune … Continue reading →

(Reuters) - Shares of Osiris Therapeutics Inc rose 15 percent on Wednesday, after U.S. health regulators said the stem-cell technology company's wound treatment was eligible for reimbursement when used in hospitals in out-patient settings or in ambulances. The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services also cleared the pathway for a permanent reimbursement code for Grafix, Osiris's wound-care matrix containing stem cells, on Tuesday. A permanent code makes reimbursement for the treatment faster and easier, thus increasing the chances of a physician prescribing it. Osiris said if the permanent reimbursement code for Grafix was approved, it could become effective from January next year. First-quarter revenue from the company's biosurgery products - Grafix and a bone matrix product called Ovation - have risen about 50 percent to $1.14 million. Shares of the Columbia, Maryland-based company were trading up 8 percent at $6.98 Wednesday morning on the Nasdaq. They jumped to $7.49 earlier in the session. (Reporting by Vidya P L Nathan in Bangalore; Editing by Don Sebastian) (This story was corrected in paragraph 2 to say the regulator was Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services, not the U.S. FDA) Read more: Osiris rises on nod for wound treatment reimbursement … Continue reading →

Public release date: 30-May-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Vanessa McMains vmcmain1@jhmi.edu 410-502-9410 Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions This year the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund awarded 29 of 40 grants to Johns Hopkins researchers for the study of stem cell metabolism and regulation, the creation of new cell models for human diseases such as schizophrenia and Rett syndrome, which previously could be studied only in animals, and the development of new potential therapies. Researchers whose preliminary data promised greater discoveries were awarded Investigator-Initiated grants. Jeff Bulte, Ph.D., professor of radiology, biomedical engineering and chemical and biomolecular engineering and a member of the Institute for Cell Engineering, hopes to develop a cell therapy for treatment of type 1 diabetes an autoimmune disorder in which the immune system kills the insulin-producing cells that help regulate blood sugar. By developing cloaked stem and insulin-producing cells that can evade immune system detection, Bulte and his team hope to replace damaged cells and restore insulin levels in patients. Grants were awarded to: Several Johns Hopkins investigators were awarded Exploratory grants for researchers either new to the stem cell field or with untested but promising new ideas. Miroslaw Janowski , M.D., Ph.D., a research … Continue reading →