LA JOLLA, Calif., Jan. 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Interest in adult stem cell therapies and their clinical applicability in treating and helping patients is growing, while accurate information remains difficult to access.  Cell Society International[1], a nonprofit organization, is dedicated to advancing the clinical applications of adult stem cell therapies worldwide through education and the collaboration of world thought leaders. According to Emerson C. Perin, MD, PhD, Director, Clinical Research for Cardiovascular Medicine and Medical Director, Stem Cell Institute, Texas Heart Institute, Houston, TX and member of the Board of Directors of Cell Society, "We obtained remarkable results from our study in which we injected stem cells derived from the bone marrow of a healthy donor into patients with heart failure. Heart function and exercise capacity improved in some cell-treated patients. Most importantly, cell therapy significantly reduced cardiac adverse events, including death. Three of 15 (20%) control patients died of cardiac causes, whereas only 1 of 45 (2%) cell-treated patients had a cardiac-related death. Despite the small numbers, our findings showed that cell therapy significantly improved cardiac mortality."  The 2nd Annual Clinical Meeting of Cell Society will be held at the Coronado Island Marriott Resort in San Diego, California on February 17 … Continue reading →

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Officials at the Texas Heart Institute (THI) at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital (St. Luke’s) announced today that Doris Taylor, PhD, FAHA, FACC, one of the world’s leading cell therapy and cardiac regeneration scientists, will join THI beginning March 1, 2012. Dr. Taylor’s research includes: Cell and gene therapy for treatment of cardiovascular disease; tissue engineering of bioartificial organs and vasculature; cell-based prevention of disease; stem cells and cancer; and holistic approaches to using cell therapy for treating chronic disease. Most recently, Dr. Taylor and her team garnered international recognition for work involving “whole organ decellularization” by showing they were able to remove existing cells from hearts of laboratory animals and even humans leaving a framework to build new organs. They repopulated the framework with other adult stem cells then provided a blood supply, and the heart regenerated with the characteristics and functions of a revitalized beating heart. The hope is that this research is an early step toward being able to grow a fully functional human heart in the laboratory. Dr. Taylor has demonstrated that the process works for other organs as well – opening a door in the field of organ transplantation. It is significant in that … Continue reading →

NEW YORK, Jan. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- NeoStem, Inc.[1] (NYSE Amex: NBS) ("NeoStem" or the "Company"), an international biopharmaceutical company with a focus on cell-based therapeutic development, today announced that its Chief Medical Officer, the lead investigator for its PreSERVE Phase 2 clinical trial[2] for AMR-001 for preservation of heart function in post acute myocardial infarction patients, and the President of its subsidiary, Progenitor Cell Therapy, LLC[3], have been invited to present at the Seventh International Conference on Cell Therapy for Cardiovascular Disease held from January 25-27, 2012 in New York City. The event is being organized by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation and will be held at the Myrna L. Daniels Auditorium in the Vivien and Seymour Milstein Family Heart Center at NYPH/Columbia University Medical Center. According to the conference, the program will be dedicated to the evolving field of cell-based therapies being developed for the repair and regeneration of cardiac and vascular disease, as well as related diseases such as diabetes and stroke. This year's conference will focus on preclinical and clinical studies on the path to commercialization, highlighting the status of molecular, cell, and tissue products in addition to delivery systems. Leaders from the international community will convene to … Continue reading →

ALLENDALE, N.J., Jan. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- NeoStem's cell therapy manufacturing division, Progenitor Cell Therapy ("PCT"), a NeoStem, Inc. company (NYSE Amex: NBS) ("NeoStem" or the "Company"), announced today an agreement whereby PCT will provide contract manufacturing and regulatory services related to the development of Islet Sciences – PTM, which will be an injectable suspension of microencapsulated insulin-producing, pancreatic islet cells which are harvested from designated pathogen free pigs. As part of this arrangement, PCT will perform microencapsulation for parsing beta pancreatic islets for xenotransplantation using piglet pancreata. Islet Sciences, Inc. ("Islet") is a biotechnology company engaged in the research, development and commercialization of patented technologies in the field of transplantation therapy for patients with diabetes and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of One E-Commerce Corporation (OTCBB: ONCE.OB[1] - News[2]).  A 2010 study by the CDC found that approximately 25.8 million Americans, more than 8% of the population, were affected by diabetes. 5% of this number, approximately 1.3 million, have type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is estimated to cost the US $14.4 billion total annually. "Given the robust market opportunity and the potential for cell therapy to alter the disease paradigm, NeoStem has agreed to this novel arrangement whereby PCT … Continue reading →