Recently, an article by Rex Graham was published on SanDiegoBiotechnology.com discussing Cardium Therapeutics (NYSE MKT: CXM).

An excerpt from the article: Read More

Cardium Therapeuitcs (NYSE MKT: CXM) is focused on the acquisition and strategic development of new and innovative bio-medical product opportunities and businesses that have the potential to address significant unmet medical needs and definable pathways to partnering, commercialization and other economic monetizations. Cardium’s investment portfolio includes the Tissue Repair Company and Cardium Biologics, medical technology companies primarily focused on the development of innovative therapeutic products for wound healing and cardiovascular Read More

Cardium Therapeutics (AMEX: CXM), a health sciences and regenerative company focused on the acquisition of new and innovative bio-medical product opportunities and businesses with the potential to address significant unmet medical needs and definable pathways to commercialization, like companies such as Impax Laboratories Inc. (Nasdaq: IPXL) and Biogen Idec Inc. (Nasdaq: BIIB), reported that new catheter-based methods significantly boosted cardiac gene delivery and will present those findings at the 2012 American Society of Gene Read More

The Cord Blood America, Inc. (OTCBB:CBAI) chart has a history of making large moves in a short time frame.  A double bottom pattern is forming as volume is increasing which will catch the eyes of traders in this popular stock.  Bottom support is intact at $0.015. Read More

Stem cell technology company BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. (OTCBB:BCLI) released a review of their achievements from the most recent three quarters.  Since the beginning of the Phase I/II clinical trial for BrainStorm’s autologous adult stem cell therapy at the Hadassah Medical Center, significant progress has been made towards achieving the goals of enrolling and treating patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

• September of 2011 - BrainStorm received notice from Israel’s Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS) of its commitment to grant the Company’s Israeli subsidiary approximately $1.1 million (NIS 3.8 million) in accordance with OCS requirements. The OCS has supported BrainStorm since 2007, providing grants of approximately $2,400,000 to date including this latest award.
• July 2011 - BrainStorm entered into a Memorandum of Understating with Massachusetts General Hospital and the University of Massachusetts Medical School in anticipation of applying for FDA approval to begin ALS human clinical trials in the United States.
• July 2011 - BrainStorm also signed an agreement with PharmaNet LLC, an inVentiv Health Company, to assist in the development of the protocol and IND file for submission to the FDA for approval of BrainStorm’s ALS human clinical trials in the United States.
• June 2011 - BrainStorm initiated its Phase I/II clinical trial with its proprietary NurOwn™ treatment for patients with ALS at the Hadassah Medical Organization. BrainStorm is the first company to receive approval from the Israeli Ministry of Health (MOH) for a differentiated stem cell-based therapy.
• March 2011 - Andrew H. Card, Jr., joined the Company’s Business Advisory Board. Mr. Card was the second-longest serving White House Chief of Staff, appointed in the presidential administration of George W. Bush.
• February 2011 - BrainStorm entered into securities purchase agreements with certain institutional and other investors in connection with a private placement financing in reliance upon Regulation S. This transaction closed on February 28, 2011, and the Company received gross proceeds of approximately $3.6 million. The Company also issued warrants to the investors in the financing which were partially exercised for an additional $265,000.
• February 2011 - BrainStorm was granted Orphan Drug Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the Company’s NurOwn™ autologous adult stem cell product candidate for the treatment of ALS. This designation affords the Company seven years of marketing exclusivity for NurOwn™ upon regulatory approval, as well as the opportunity to apply for grant funding from the U.S. government to defray costs of clinical trial expenses, tax credits for clinical research expenses and potential exemption from the FDA’s application user fee.  Investors can learn more about NurOwn™ here.
• January 2011 - BrainStorm appointed an experienced drug developer, Adrian Harel, Ph.D., as the Company’s Acting Chief Executive Officer.

Technically speaking, the BCLI stock chart is holding a firm base at $0.25, a regular area of support for the chart.  The last time that the share value was at these levels was in June 2011.  It had been holding the quarter mark for several months and eventually exploded to touch 60 cents in just two days.  Widely-used indicators such as the Moving Average Convergence/Divergence (MACD) and Relative Strength Index (RSI) have recently begun uptrends, showing some strength to trend and momentum coming into the chart.  While still early in a potential new uptrend, the indicators aligning - coupled with the 25 cent support level - may be catching the eyes of technical traders.

BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics (BCLI) Stock Quote and News:

Disclaimer: Neither http://www.otcshowcase.com nor its officers, directors, partners, employees or anyone involved in the publication of the website or newsletters (“us” or “we”) is a registered investment adviser or licensed broker-dealer in any jurisdiction whatsoever. Further, we are not qualified to provide any investment advice and we make no recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. The prior article is published as information only for our readers. otcshowcase.com is a third party publisher of news and research. Our site does not make recommendations, but offers information portals to research news, articles, stock lists and recent research. Nothing on our site should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. This site is sometimes compensated by featured companies, news submissions and online advertising. Viper Enterprises, LLC (parent company of OTC Showcase) has received no compensation for this article from and owns no shares of the aforementioned company(ies). Please read and fully understand our entire disclaimer at http://www.otcshowcase.com/?page_id=190.

The Market
Still in its infancy relative to its potential and commercial applications, regenerative medicine is clearly a burgeoning industry with many experts projecting it as “the next generation of medical technology.” The field has grown slowly throughout the years primarily funded by private investments, but recently governments are steadily backing the use of stem cells including not only the U.S., but China (who set up a $1 billion fund for stem cell research), Singapore, Brazil, Argentina and Australia to name a few. Increasingly, policy makers see it as a potential solution to some of the serious healthcare and economic challenges caused by an aging population.

Late in 2010, a new report was issued by Global Industry Analysts, Inc. putting an estimate on the global regenerative medicine market at $1.4 billion by the year 2015. The firm cited the growth to be “powered by increasing focus on stem cell research, greater usage of nonautograft products, ageing baby boomers and higher investments in R&D activity.”

However the real growth in regenerative medicine therapies may well come in 2016 and beyond, as new therapies for heart disease, stroke, inflammatory and immune disease, transplantation support, and a range of other conditions could begin to hit the market. If that happens, and these therapies have anything close to the envisioned impact in areas of unmet medical need, then they could conceivably change the way medicine is practiced and give birth to a new multibillion industry, creating some new industry giants in the process.

As the partnering demand for regenerative medicine continues to build, it has already resulted in some transformational partnerships. The high water mark (so far) is the recent $1.7 billion potential deal between Cephalon (NASDAQ:CEPH) and Australia-based Mesoblast (ASX:MSB) , which involved up front an up-front license fee of $130 million for rights to Mesoblast’s stem cell technology in in the cardiovascular and neurological areas, and an equity investment of $220 million. Mesoblast garnered attention for results from from a Phase 2 study in patients suffering congestive heart failure, which was clearly one of the factors driving the Cephalon deal. In addition, its proprietary adult mesenchymal precursor cells have recently gained FDA authorization to begin a Phase 3 clinical trial in support of bone marrow transplants in patients with blood cancers.

Osiris Therapeutics (NASDAQ:OSIR) is also an industry leader currently in the midst of two clinical trials. Osiris’ Prochymal, an intravenously administered formulation of mesenchymal stem cells, is being evaluated in Phase 3 clinical trials for several indications, including acute graft versus host disease (GvHD) and also Crohn’s disease. Prochymal is also in Phase II studies for other indications, and was the basis for a $1.38 billion partnership with Genzyme (NASDAQ:GENZ), which was recently acquired by Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE:SNY).

Some regenerative medicine companies have just been purchased outright. Connecticut-based Advanced BioHealing (ABH) had the public trading community salivating as it geared-up to go public earlier this year with its Dermagraft product, which is already FDA approved for certain indications and generating increasing sales. Irish company Shire Plc. (SHP:LN stepped-in and acquired ABH for $750 million in cash the day before it was set to go public, providing a huge return to the company’s investors. This story doesn’t necessary end there for those desiring companies deep in the regenerative medicine field as Shire is – and has been - the subject of takeover speculation.

Another quiet leader in the field is Athersys, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATHX) with its MultiStem® technology. The patented and proprietary stem cell product is in development for multiple distinct diseases and conditions in the cardiovascular, neurological, inflammatory and immune disease areas. There are some direct comparisons that can be drawn between MultiStem® and Mesoblast’s efforts, with MultiStem appearing to outperform its larger peer in function and scalability, and from early clinical results in areas like transplantation support and treating damage from heart attacks. Like Mesoblast, Athersys has built up a significant portfolio of programs, and has begun to establish alliances with some major partners. In December 2009, Athersys partnered with Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and has since advanced MultiStem into a 126-patient Phase II clinical trial as an indication for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Pfizer is bearing all costs of the trials, leaving Athersys and its bank account in a prime position to evaluate MultiStem in additional human trials. However, in addition to the distinctiveness of its technology, one big difference between Athersys and some of its peers is the company’s modest market cap and meager burn rate – both of which could make it a compelling investment opportunity.

A Closer Look at Athersys
An acute business strategy to develop MultiStem has maneuvered Athersys to its leadership position in the regenerative medicine field. Leveraging the strengths of organizations such as collaborations with the Cleveland Clinic and other leading research and clinical institutions in the U.S. and Europe, Athersys has collaborated with a broad international network of leading researchers and key opinion leaders. This has allowed the company to cost effectively explore a multi-directional range of clinical pathways and commercial possibilities for the novel technology. Upon review of the results from this early data, specific indications were identified as holding the strongest promise to achieve clinical, and ultimately commercial,success. These indications were systematically prioritized, and several have now been advanced into mid-stage clinical trials, in areas like IBD, stroke, and heart disease, with more potentially on the way.

This multi-prong approach serves many purposes and bodes well for the future of Athersys. First, Athersys has not “put all their eggs in one basket.” Many biotechs roll through drug or technology development focused largely or entirely on one project or program, essentially wearing horse blinders, and leaving very little room for error. Once encountering a problem, many companies feel they have no choice but to continue moving their program forward – even if the results don’t justify further investment. Essentially, if the drug fails, the company fails and it’s back to the drawing board, so companies are forced to plow ahead. In a stark contrast, Athersys has already evaluated many possibilities for MultiStem and is pursuing several indications with strong potential, while maintaining the ability to cross leverage manufacturing resources and safety data from the various programs. This reduces the need to have to run repetitive Phase 1 safety studies whenever a new indication is being pursued, given that consistent safety data has already been generated from multiple studies. Given the fact that more than 40% of all traditional drugs in development never make it past Phase I and 60% more fail in Phase II, this “parallel path” approach seems alarmingly logical and efficient, and has already enabled significant de-risking of the portfolio.

Additionally, by outsourcing as much early research as possible through its network of collaborations, costs are reduced and development is expedited; while the Athersys share structure remains firmly intact. It has also greatly broadened executive connections within the industry, elevating the profile of the company. The recognition and respect was recently showcased by Athersys CEO Gil Van Bokkelen being elected Chairman of the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM), an international organization based in Washington D.C. that is committed to educating key policy makers about the potential of regenerative medicine and to advocate for favorable public policies to facilitate advances in the field. ARM is comprised of more than 90 industry leaders including the likes of household name companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Roche, and Pfizer, as well as leading disease foundations, patient advocacy groups, and research institutions. He also serves on the boards of several leading stem cell and regenerative medicine institutes, including the National Center for Regenerative Medicine.

The Future
What the future holds for any biotech is always uncertain, but because the rewards can be of an unparalleled magnitude, there is a large community of investors and traders that flock towards the biotechnology sector. Regenerative medicine in particular offers a strong upside given the expectations for the industry’s growth and the impetus added by federal initiatives to shepherd the pursuit of next generation therapies. Further, biologics have historically proven a higher FDA-approval rate than new molecular entities (26% and 14%, respectively) which further adds to the appeal of companies focused in the field.

While each of the aforementioned companies are valuable in their own rights and cumulatively they are pulling the sleigh towards regenerative medicine hitting the mainstream someday, Athersys, with its paltry $44 million market cap, partnerships, leadership and MultiStem technology certainly appears worth a much closer look at where this firm could be in the near-to-mid term. With Mesoblast setting precedent and apparent FDA initiatives to rapidly move promising adult stem cell therapies to late-stage clinical trials, Athersys – either alone or along with partners such as Pfizer – certainly could find itself penning applications for Priority Review or Fast Track designation to continue its ascent towards a leadership position in the biopharmaceutical industry.

A host of information for further research including industry projections, the history of regenerative medicine, biotech approval rates and more can be found here.

Athersys (ATHX) Stock Quote and News:

Osiris Therapeutics (OSIR) Stock Quote and News:

Cephalon (CEPH) Stock Quote and News:

Disclaimer: Neither http://www.otcshowcase.com nor its officers, directors, partners, employees or anyone involved in the publication of the website or newsletters (“us” or “we”) is a registered investment adviser or licensed broker-dealer in any jurisdiction whatsoever. Further, we are not qualified to provide any investment advice and we make no recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. The prior article is published as information only for our readers. otcshowcase.com is a third party publisher of news and research. Our site does not make recommendations, but offers information portals to research news, articles, stock lists and recent research. Nothing on our site should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. This site is sometimes compensated by featured companies, news submissions and online advertising. Viper Enterprises, LLC (parent company of OTC Showcase) has received no compensation for this article from and owns no shares of the aforementioned company(ies). Please read and fully understand our entire disclaimer at http://www.otcshowcase.com/?page_id=190.

It doesn’t always happen that a company gains from a competitor’s achievements, but sometimes one company’s announcements showcase similarities between others in the industry.  Such may have recently been the case with Neostem, Inc. (AMEX: NBS) after larger Australian competitor Mesoblast Limited (ASX:MSB) (PINK:MBLTY) made a market-moving announcement relating to one area of mutual competition for the two companies, which is the use of cell regeneration in cardiac medicine.

Mesoblast announced August 15,2011 that its heart failure clinical trial had been selected by the American Heart Association (AHA) as a feature presentation at AHA’s 2011 annual conference in Orlando, Florida in mid-November. The immediate effect was that Neostem’s shares rose that day to a dramatic high 17% above the previous day’s close.

In plain terms, perfusion is the degree to which blood is moved from arteries into capillaries. Good perfusion is especially important to heart muscle, an area in which Amorcyte specializes. Amorcyte delivers CD34+CXCR4+ bone marrow derived stem cells (migrated from the bone marrow and collected in peripheral blood) to enhance cardiac perfusion.

The news subsequently got the attention of the media and CBS’ Eye on New York City invited Neostem onto its show August 24 to talk about stem cell regeneration for first responders. Over the next few days, this also produced a gradual boost in Neostem shares.

Neostem’s use of regenerative medicine for first responders is particularly focused on issues surrounding physical damage from nuclear accidents. The program encourages first responders to bank their stem cells for possible later use. The procedure works by using an adjuvant drug to stimulate migration of stem cells from bone marrow into the general circulation where they can be harvested. Remaining blood components are then returned to the patient’s circulation. The process takes three or four hours and the harvested cells are frozen.

Besides its overall damage to the body, acute radiation syndrome (ARS) presents special medical problems because the victim’s own stem cells are often too damaged to be used, and using a “close match” from a relative is failure-prone. But by banking the patient’s own, or autologous, cells, a perfect match is ensured.

Neostem is broadly based in regenerative medicine, having earlier this year acquired Progenitor Cell Therapy and looking forward to its upcoming acquisition of Amorcyte, Inc. (subject to shareholder approval later this year). It’s also active in China, holding a majority interest in Suzhou Erye Pharmaceutical Company Limited, with reported revenues of $69 million last year.

NeoStem, Inc. (NBS) Stock Quote and News:

Disclaimer: Neither http://www.otcshowcase.com nor its officers, directors, partners, employees or anyone involved in the publication of the website or newsletters (“us” or “we”) is a registered investment adviser or licensed broker-dealer in any jurisdiction whatsoever. Further, we are not qualified to provide any investment advice and we make no recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. The prior article is published as information only for our readers. otcshowcase.com is a third party publisher of news and research. Our site does not make recommendations, but offers information portals to research news, articles, stock lists and recent research. Nothing on our site should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. This site is sometimes compensated by featured companies, news submissions and online advertising. Viper Enterprises, LLC (parent company of OTC Showcase) has received no compensation for this article from and owns no shares of the aforementioned company(ies). Please read and fully understand our entire disclaimer at http://www.otcshowcase.com/?page_id=190.

Cord Blood America, Inc. (www.cordblood-america.com) (OTC Bulletin Board: CBAI), the umbilical cord blood stem cell preservation company focused on bringing the life saving potential of stem cells to families nationwide and internationally, today announced that Stellacure, GmbH, its stem cell company headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, has entered into an agreement with a licensee in Jordan to open Read More