Stem Cell Banking

The banking of stem cells, particularly cord blood cells, appears to be a very interesting and lucrative business, particularly given the recurring revenue model and the huge base of consumers who will choose to bank stem cells. Our top pick to making money from this growing trend of stem cell banking is Cryo-Cell (CCEL). Recently,  CRYO-CELL Signed an exclusive license to market a new stem cell banking service around Plureon Stem Cells (PSCs).  Below are some key points from CCEL's recent press release.

PSCs are a promising and novel type of stem cell discovered by researchers working in the Laboratory for Cell Therapy and Tissue Engineering at Children`s Hospital Boston (a Harvard Medical School teaching affiliate in Boston, MA). Plureon Corporation acquired the exclusive worldwide rights to the Children`s Hospital patent applications pertaining to this novel stem cellfor both collection/banking as well as therapeutic development.

Researchers believe that Plureon stem cells represent great promise as an alternative to embryonic stem cells in the development of human cellular therapies. PSCs are not sourced from human embryonic tissues, but like embryonic stem cells, are lineage negative and reproduce rapidly. In the laboratory, PSCs have been differentiated into many other cell types, including bone, cardiac muscle, skeletal muscle, nerves, liver, and pancreatic cells. Even after hundreds of population doublings, PSCs appear to remain stable and retain their key characteristics.

PSCs differ from embryonic stem cells in other aspects, as well. Whereas embryonic cells have been shown to form teratomas when implanted into animals, Plureon cells are non-cancer forming. And, because PSCs are collected without harm to an embryo or fetus, they do not give rise to the ethical controversy surrounding embryonic stem cells.

PSCs have demonstrated strong potential in developing next-generation medical treatments for presently incurable diseases. Researchers have already demonstrated that PSCs have the ability to cure diabetes in small animals. This finding attracted the interest of several large pharmaceutical and life sciences companies, leading to Plureon`s October 14, 2005 announcement of a research and development agreement in the field of diabetes with BD (Becton Dickinson and Company). Plureon is also researching the use of PSCs in treating a host
of other diseases, disabilities, and injuries.

CRYO-CELL intends to launch the Plureon service in early 2006, in combination with its industryleading U-Cord® service. CRYO-CELL expects to charge a fee for cell collection, processing and storage, and pay royalties to Plureon for sub-licensing the underlying technology. Soon parents will have the unique opportunity to collect both their future therapeutic potential. As with the Company`s industry-leading cord blood stem cell preservation service, placental tissue would otherwise be discarded as medical waste, and its collection causes no harm to either mother or baby.

Over the past fifteen years, cord blood stem cells have increasingly been used to successfully treat over 70 diseases. The majority of these diseases have been related to blood and immune system disorders, and researchers have been recently encouraged by cord blood`s potential in other diseases, including neurological disorders and cardiac conditions. PSCs offer distinct
advantages over cord blood stem cells: they have more plasticity (the ability to become multilineage) and can be easily cultured to multiply. Because of this, Plureon Stem Cells collected at birth may be later removed from cryogenic storage and serve as a source of stem cells for multiple future therapeutic applications.

Although, to date, PSCs have not been used in human therapies, laboratory animal studies are encouraging. "We believe the strategic alliance between CRYO-CELL and Plureon represents a pivotal development in CRYO-CELL`s history, as well as the newly emerging frontier of regenerative science. Plureon`s world-renowned research affiliates have discovered a cell that has the potential to transform cellular medicine," stated Mercedes Walton, Chairman and CEO of CRYO-CELL.