CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Feb. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ViaCell, Inc. was joined yesterday afternoon by Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and other local officials for a ribbon cutting ceremony to officially open its corporate headquarters and recently completed research and development and manufacturing facility.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060202/NETH009 )
"We are proud Massachusetts is home to ViaCell and other biotechnology companies that are on the forefront of developing innovative therapies for serious and life-threatening diseases," said Governor Romney. "ViaCell's technological advancements have the potential to bring the benefits of stem cells to patients from non-controversial sources, umbilical cord blood and adult-derived stem cells, thereby further establishing Cambridge as a center of scientific excellence."
"ViaCell aims to be the leader in the preservation, manufacturing and commercialization of cord blood and adult-derived stem cells," said Marc D. Beer, President and Chief Executive Officer of ViaCell. "We expect our new state-of-the art research and development and manufacturing facility will help us significantly in our development efforts in the area of cancer, cardiac disease and diabetes to enable widespread use of human cells as medicine."
The new laboratory space, located within the Cambridge Science Center at 245 First Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts, is fitted for development and clinical trial scale manufacturing of cord blood and adult-derived stem cells. ViaCell also leases office space at 245 First Street, which serves as its corporate headquarters. Approximately 155 employees occupy space within ViaCell's Cambridge facilities.
ViaCell is a biotechnology company focused on enabling the widespread use of human cells as medicine. The Company is developing a pipeline of proprietary stem cell product candidates intended to address cancer, cardiac disease, and diabetes. CB001, its lead cord blood derived stem cell therapy product candidate, is being developed for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in patients affected by a variety of cancers. In addition to its therapeutic development programs, ViaCell's Reproductive Health Business Unit commercializes ViaCord(R), a product that offers expecting families the option of preserving their baby's umbilical cord blood. The Company is working to leverage its commercial infrastructure and product development capabilities by developing ViaCyte(SM), its investigational product intended to broaden reproductive choices for women through the cryopreservation of human unfertilized eggs. ViaCell is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts with a processing and storage facility in Kentucky and additional research and development operations in Singapore.
ViaCell(R) and ViaCord(R) are registered trademarks and ViaCyte(SM) is a service mark of ViaCell, Inc.
For Additional Information Contact: Justine E. Koenigsberg Senior Director, Corporate Communications (617) 914-3494
Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060202/NETH009AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.orgAP PhotoExpress Network: PRN5PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.comViaCell, Inc.CONTACT: Justine E. Koenigsberg, Senior Director, Corporate Communicationsof ViaCell, Inc., +1-617-914-3494
Web site: http://www.viacord.com//
