Recent Stock Prices For Stem Cell Companies in the US & Malaysia

I haven't written much about the financial status of stem cell companies in this blog (it is dedicated to therapy mostly), but in the light of what I've been reading in some very well-read financial magazines, it is difficult to ignore that the better the company is funded and perceived by investors, the more recognition they are able to get for their products and services. This recognition then translates into greater awareness and acceptance by members of the public, which by using the company's services will generate more revenues and greater returns for investors.


STOCK UP 135% - ADULT STEM CELLS FOR BONES

In this month's Bloomberg Markets publication (February 2007, page 22) the first paragraph pretty much brings home the judgement of which stem cell companies are excelling and which are not. The article starts by praising Osiris Therapeutics*, a company focussing on adult stem cells which provides treatment for broken bones and joint therapies, as having taken the path of least resistance. Shares in Osiris recently rocketed up 135% to USD 25.82 in the space of 5 months after its initial public offering (IPO). I think the reason why investors are keen on this company is due to the generation of USD 2.5 million in revenue in the 3rd quarter.


NOT THERE YET- EMBRYONIC STEM CELL HURDLES

Contrast Osiris's stock performance with Geron -a company that focuses on developing embryonic stem cells for treatment in Alzheimer's- which for the year of 2006 rose only 9%. Geron is still in its product development phase and is planning to commence human clinical trials in 2007. Other companies which have also underperformed in 2006 stock price are Aastrom Biosciences and Cytori Therapeutics. Aastrom has had a few changes in top management since their inception (much as the business model may be sexy, savvy investors also look at leadership and team), whilst Cytori started off as Stemsource in California and is now trying to get its fat stem cell processing machine FDA approved.


ADULT STEM CELLS- NO DISPUTE

Amongst the financial community and medical community, there is no dispute about the rationale behind adult stem cell successes which certainly helps a company working on adult stem cells' stock performance. Firstly, U.S. President George Bush imposed funding restrictions on embryonic stem cell research from a moral and ethical perspective. Second, adult stem cells found in umbilical cord blood, bone marrow or peripheral blood has already been proven over the last few decades in medicine. Christopher Thomas Scott, executive director of the Program on Stem Cells in Society at Stanford University was quoted as saying "The companies that will emerge first in the stem cell arena will be those using adult stem cells".


*Osiris Therapeutics is thought to have great potential to perform in the financial arena as it generates mass produced stem cells from one donor for more than 5000 treatments. However, it will be interesting to see if it is possible to overcome all stem cell matching issues and whether the cells respond similarly in all patients. The cells may also be donor dependent and there are always inherent risks when accepting tissue or blood from another person.


FIRST MALAYSIAN STEM CELL COMPANY LISTED ON STOCK EXCHANGE

StemLife recently listed on the Mesdaq board of the Malaysian Stock Exchange. If you'd like to find out how our share price is doing, you can call your broker and ask for stock code 0137 or StemLfe, look in the business news or check out this recent article in the Star.