Broadly speaking, regenerative medicine is an innovative new area of medicine that is focused on the development of new therapies that enable healing and repair of the body in ways that overcome the limitations of conventional medical treatments.  Regenerative medicine uses a range of approaches, including cell based therapies, stem cells, tissue engineering and others, that represent Read More

On the heels of a steady stream of corporate developments in October that showcased the promising data that continues to build regarding its MultiStem® cell therapy, Athersys, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATHX) announced Thursday morning that its subsidiary, ReGenesys BVBA, recently received the BioProcess International Award for the “Technical Application of the Decade” in Manufacturing for its use of an automated bioreactor system for the production of MultiStem. Read More

Weight loss drugs are back in the news with Arena Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ARNA) finally winning Food and Drug Administration approval on Wednesday for lorcaserin, which will be sold under the name Belviq by Eisai Co. Ltd. (Pink Sheets: ESALY), a division of Arena. The FDA has been very hesitant to approve any new weight loss therapies, with Arena’s victory marking the first effort in 13 years to garner the approval of the regulatory agency. Belviq now joins Roche’s (OTCQX: RHHBY) Xenical as the only FDA-approved anti-obesity drugs on the market today. With the new approval, and anticipated near term approval of Qnexa, a therapy being developed by Vivus (NASDAQ: VVUS) investors are taking the opportunity to focus on a few other companies, such as Orexigen Therapeutics (NASDAQ: OREX) and Athersys, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATHX), that each have innovative portfolios containing promising anti-obesity products that could represent the next wave of innovation. Read More

Every industry or sector has pioneers that worked at the forefront of the field to shepherd new technologies into the mainstream. Oncology, for example, took huge steps forward as a result of the efforts of Dr. Sidney Farber, earning him the titles of “the father of the modern era of chemotherapy” and “father of modern pediatric pathology”. What Dr. Farber was doing seventy years ago changed the landscape of cancer therapies. Fast forwarding to today, there are leaders in the regenerative medicine (sometimes called “tissue engineering”) field that one day may be referenced in the same manner as Farber. Henri Termeer, who retired from his post as CEO at Genzyme last year when the biotech leader was bought by Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE: SNY) for $20.1 billion; Geoff MacKay, CEO at privately-held Organogenesis, Inc.; and Gil Van Bokkelen, CEO at Athersys, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATHX) are each recognized as innovators in regenerative medicines that demonstrate the skill, tenacity and Read More

The stock chart for Athersys (NASDAQ: ATHX) is particularly interesting because it is sitting on a solid support level and a bullish cross of the MACD happened recently. The bullish cross has historically been accompanied by an upswing in price per share, which has not happened on this occasion. As such, the chart remains on radar for the support to hold and for the MACD/PPS pattern to repeat itself. Read More

Graft versus Host Disease (GvHD) is an area of great unmet medical that represents a significant risk to cancer patients throughout the world.  The condition occurs when patients receive a bone marrow transplant following radiation and/or chemotherapy, and the transplanted immune cells begin to attack the patient, causing significant pain and disability, or even death. Read More

There’s no arguing that stem cells therapies have been a hot button topic of controversy for years.  The days are few and far between where there isn’t something in the media that highlights some aspect of the debate, whether it’s promising research results; a new clinical study being authorized by the FDA; a high-profile athlete heading overseas for some type of stem cell therapy through the practice of Read More