NEW YORK, Aug. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- NeoStem, Inc. (NYSE Amex: NBS) (“NeoStem” or the “Company”), an international biopharmaceutical company with operations in the U.S. and China, commented today on the ruling this week of a U.S. District Court blocking the federal government from funding research involving human embryonic stem cells. In issuing a preliminary injunction, the judge said it violated a law first passed in 1996 prohibiting federal money for research where a human embryo is destroyed.
NeoStem’s proprietary VSEL Technology utilizes a population of adult stem cells known as very small embryonic-like stem cells. Very small embryonic-like stem cells are a heterogeneous population of stem cells found in adult bone marrow that have properties similar to those of embryonic stem cells without being embryonic stem cells. These cells have the potential to achieve the positive benefits associated with embryonic stem cells without destroying a fetus. In fact, earlier this summer the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Culture showed its support for NeoStem’s VSEL Technology by entering into with NeoStem the Council’s first-ever contractual collaboration with an outside commercial venture to advance adult stem cell research.
“This unexpected halt to Federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research makes NeoStem’s efforts to develop stem cell therapies using our proprietary VSEL Technology even more important today than it was just last week,” commented Dr. Robin Smith, NeoStem’s Chairman and CEO. “Our studies are showing that these pluripotent stem cells can be mobilized from the bone marrow and collected from the peripheral blood. This is all accomplished without the legal and moral issues related to the use of embryonic stem cells and is therefore not impacted by this Court ruling. Furthermore, the autologous (one’s own) availability of very small embryonic-like stem cells eliminates the risk of rejection by the body as not being one’s own, as well as the risk of infectious disease, graft versus host disease and not finding a match when cells are needed.”
About NeoStem, Inc.
NeoStem, Inc. is engaged in the development of stem cell-based therapies and building of a network of adult stem cell collection centers in the U.S. and China that are focused on enabling people to donate and store their own (autologous) stem cells for their personal use in times of future medical need. The Company is also the licensee of various stem cell technologies, including a worldwide exclusive license to VSEL Technology which uses very small embryonic-like stem cells, shown to have several physical characteristics that are generally found in embryonic stem cells, and is pursuing the licensing of other technologies for therapeutic use. NeoStem’s majority-controlled Chinese pharmaceutical operation, Suzhou Erye, manufactures and distributes generic antibiotics in China. For more information, please visit: http://www.neostem.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements reflect management’s current expectations, as of the date of this press release, and involve certain risks and uncertainties. Forward looking statements include the future of VSEL TM Technology as a viable treatment option, about which no assurances can be given. The Company’s actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Factors that could cause future results to materially differ from the recent results or those projected in forward-looking statements include the “Risk Factors” described in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 31, 2010, as well as other periodic and other filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company’s further development is highly dependent on future medical and research developments and market acceptance, which is outside its control.
For more information, please contact: | |
NeoStem, Inc. | |
Robin Smith, CEO | |
Phone: +1-212-584-4174 | |
Email: rsmith@neostem.com | |
SOURCE NeoStem, Inc.
