PALO ALTO, Calif., March 17, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- StemCells, Inc. (Nasdaq:STEM) announced today that the United Kingdom (UK) Intellectual Property Office has granted patent number GB2451523 with broad claims covering true (germline competent) rat stem cells and genetically engineered rats derived from these cells. The patented technology is expected to have significant utility to academic and pharmaceutical industry researchers by enabling them to create novel rat models for the study of human diseases. Both mice and rats are used by scientists to model various human diseases. However, rat models are more frequently used by pharmaceutical companies because the physiological characteristics of rats make them better suited for assessing drug efficacy and toxicity.
