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NeoStem Announces Research Supporting VSEL(TM) Technology Presented at the American Society of Hematology Annual MeetingNEW YORK, Jan 09, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE via COMTEX) -- NeoStem, Inc. (NYSE MKT:NBS), an emerging leader in the fast growing cell therapy market, announced today that multiple abstracts presented December 8-11 at the 2012 American Society of Hematology ("ASH") annual meeting, add to the growing body of scientific work describing the capabilities of very small embryonic-like stem cells ("VSELs(TM)"). These papers are published as 2012 Annual Meeting Abstracts in the journal Blood, Volume 120, Issue 21. "Cell therapy has the potential to radically change the face of how diseases are treated, leading to longer and, more importantly, better quality lives," said Dr. Robin Smith, CEO of NeoStem. "These abstracts include one authored by members of the NeoStem research and development team and three coauthored by Mariusz Z. Ratajczak, M.D., Ph.D., D.Sci., co-inventor of VSEL(TM) Technology and member of NeoStem's Scientific Advisory Board. NeoStem's technologies, including its VSEL(TM) Technology which is in pre-clinical development, are supporting this paradigm shift in medical treatment that we believe is underway and that is developing cell therapies through amplification of our own body's natural repair mechanisms; a shift toward treating disease with our own cells and toward finding cures, as opposed to treating the symptoms of illnesses. The potentially broad application of our VSEL(TM) Technology could lead to the treatment of a wide-range of serious medical conditions, including macular degeneration, acute radiation syndrome, wounds, periodontitis and even osteoporosis." The VSEL(TM)-related ASH abstracts include: -- "A Lin-CD45-CD34+ Population of Extracellular Vesicles in Human Blood that Mimics Very Small Embryonic-Like Stem Cells (VSELs) by Flow Cytometry," co-authored by David W. O'Neill, M.D., Director of Research and Development, Progenitor Cell Therapy ("PCT", a NeoStem company) and Yajuan Jiang, Ph.D., Director Research Operations and Senior Scientist, PCT, along with other colleagues from the NeoStem research and development team. This work highlights the importance of continuing efforts to fully characterize human VSELs(TM) and the use of well defined, highly purified populations for in vitro and in vivo studies to demonstrate therapeutic activities. In order to develop a cell therapy that is VSEL(TM)-based, NeoStem is focused on developing more efficient and cost-effective methods to isolate these cells. -- Three abstracts coauthored by Mariusz Z. Ratajczak, M.D., Ph.D., D.Sci.. These abstracts further the research on murine VSEL(TM) capabilities, suggesting their potential to proliferate into hematopoietic stem cells as well as expand in vivo in bone marrow in response to toxic damage of the brain, as well as data indicating that prolonged strenuous exercise may cause bone marrow VSELs(TM) to proliferate and mobilize into peripheral blood. -- An abstract from Yoshiaki Sonoda and colleagues at the Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Kansai Medical University, Osaka, Japan describing a method for extracting VSEL(TM)-like cells from bone and outlining work that begins to compare the properties of these bone-associated cells with bone marrow-derived VSELs(TM). Dr. Smith further commented, "While still early, we believe there is much promise for VSELs(TM) and look forward to getting them into the clinic in order that we may explore their full potential and regenerative properties." About VSEL Technology NeoStem has a worldwide exclusive license to VSEL Technology. Research by Mariusz Ratajczak, M.D., Ph.D., and others at the University of Louisville provides compelling evidence that bone marrow contains a heterogeneous population of stem cells that have properties similar to those of an embryonic stem cell. These cells are referred to as very small embryonic-like stem cells. This finding opens the possibility of capturing some of the key advantages associated with embryonic stem cells without the ethical or moral dilemmas and without some of the potential negative biological effects associated with stem cells of embryonic derivation. The possibility of autologous VSEL(TM) treatments is yet another important potential benefit to this unique population of adult stem cells. VSEL Technology offers the potential to go beyond the paracrine effect, yielding cells that actually differentiate into the target tissue creating true cellular regeneration. For more information, visit www.vseltechnology.com About NeoStem, Inc. NeoStem, continues to develop and build on its core capabilities in cell therapy, capitalizing on the paradigm shift occurring in medicine. We anticipate that cell therapy will have a significant role in the fight against chronic disease and in lessening the economic burden that these diseases pose to modern society. We are emerging as a technology and market leading company in this fast developing cell therapy industry. Our multi-faceted business strategy combines a state-of-the-art contract development and manufacturing subsidiary, PCT, with a medically important cell therapy product development program, enabling near and long-term revenue growth opportunities. We believe that, with our expertise and research capabilities and collaborations, we will achieve our mission of becoming a premier cell therapy company. Our contract development and manufacturing service business supports the development of proprietary cell therapy products. NeoStem's most clinically advanced therapeutic, AMR-001, is being developed at Amorcyte, LLC ("Amorcyte"), which we acquired in October 2011. Amorcyte is developing a cell therapy for the treatment of cardiovascular disease and is enrolling patients in a Phase 2 trial to investigate AMR-001's efficacy in preserving heart function after a heart attack. Athelos Corporation ("Athelos"), which is 80%-owned by our subsidiary, PCT, is collaborating with Becton-Dickinson in the early clinical exploration of a T-cell therapy for autoimmune conditions. In addition, pre-clinical assets include our VSELTechnology platform as well as our mesenchymal stem cell product candidate for regenerative medicine. Our service business and pipeline of proprietary cell therapy products work in concert to create a competitive advantage that we believe is unique to the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Supported by an experienced scientific and business management team and a substantial intellectual property estate, we are well positioned to succeed. For more information, please visit www.neostem.com. Forward-Looking Statements for NeoStem, Inc. 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 statements herein with respect to the successful execution of the Company's business strategy, including with respect to the successful development of any therapeutic product based on the Company's VSEL Technology, the size of the market for any such products, its competitive position in such markets, the Company's ability to successfully penetrate such markets and the efficacy of protection from its patent portfolio, as well as the future of the cell therapeutics industry in general, including the rate at which such industry may grow. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward- looking statements as a result of various factors, including but not limited to matters described under the "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 20, 2012 and in the Company's other periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, all of which are available on its website. The Company does not undertake to update its forward-looking statements. The Company's further development is highly dependent on future medical and research developments and market acceptance, which is outside its control. CONTACT: Trout Group Lauren Kwiecinski, Senior Associate Phone: +1-646-378-2934 Email: [email protected] http://media.globenewswire.com/cache/18623/small/12475.jpg //www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/ti nf=MTMjMTAwMTc1NTcjMTg2MjM= |
