“Latest Stem Cells News”

Pfizer said Sunday that it was buying the rights to a somewhat controversial cell therapy from Athersys, a biotechnology company — a sign of big pharmaceutical companies’ growing interest in stem cells.

Pfizer will have the rights to develop Athersys’s cells to treat inflammatory bowel disease, the companies are expected to announce on Monday. It will pay Athersys $6 million initially and up to $105 million in the future.

Russia’s Stem Cell Institute said on Wednesday it plans to raise up to 165 million roubles ($5.53 million) in what will be the country’s first initial public offering since the financial crisis erupted last year.

If the IPO goes ahead as expected, Stem Cell Institute would have an implied market capitalisation of 825 million roubles.

Stem Cell Institute set an indicative price range of the IPO at between 9 and 11 roubles per ordinary share and the offering will comprise approximately 15 million ordinary shares.

from http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssHealthcareNews/idUSL562611120091007

Stem Cell Therapeutics Corp. is pleased to announce the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has provided a verbal confirmation to remove its clinical hold placed on NTx®-265 on September 18, 2008. This will allow SCT to commence the recruitment of patients under an amended protocol using NTx®-265 for the Company’s Phase IIb clinical trial treating acute ischemic stroke.

Dr. Alan Moore, President and CEO, commented as follows:

“We are very pleased that our series of collaborative meetings with the FDA has resulted in this positive development. We are expecting to receive written notification from the FDA in the near future following which we will finalize the plans for our stroke trial. We will issue another press release once this has been determined.”

About REGENESIS: NTx®-265 is SCT’s lead therapeutic regimen of two approved and clinically well-defined drugs, human Chorionic Gonadotropin (“hCG”) and Erythropoietin (“EPO”), targeting the treatment of stroke. The twin objectives of the treatment are to stimulate the growth and differentiation of new neurons to replace the brain cells that were lost or damaged by the stroke, and importantly, to direct motor, visual, and cognitive recovery after the acute ischemic stroke. Encouraging clinical results from SCT’s BETAS Phase IIa stroke trial were presented at the International Stroke Conference in February 2009, showing clinically relevant recovery in 12 of 12 patients who received the complete treatment.

About Stem Cell Therapeutics Corp.: Stem Cell Therapeutics Corp. is a Canadian public biotechnology company  focused on the development and commercialization of drug-based therapies to treat central nervous system diseases. SCT is a leader in the development of therapies that utilize drugs to stimulate a patient’s own resident stem cells. The Company’s programs aim to repair brain and nerve function lost due to disease or injury. The Company’s extensive patent portfolio of owned and licensed intellectual property supports the potential expansion into future clinical programs in numerous neurological diseases such as traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis, Huntington’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and ALS.

These securities have not been registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the securities laws of any state, and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of U.S. persons unless an applicable exemption from U.S. registration requirements is available.

Except for historical information, this press release may contain forward-looking statements, which reflect the Company’s current expectation regarding future events. These forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainties, which may cause but are not limited to, changing market conditions, the successful and timely completion of clinical studies, the establishment of corporate alliances, the impact of competitive products and pricing, new product development, uncertainties related to the regulatory approval process and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company’s ongoing quarterly and annual reporting.
The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.