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Category Archives: Stem Cell Therapy

Study of California Stem Agency Likely to be Released in About a Month

Posted: November 4, 2012 at 7:59 am

The $700,000, Institute of Medicine performance study of the $3 billion California stem cell agency is expected to be
released in late November or early December, the IOM said today.

In response to a question last week
from the California Stem Cell Report, Christine Stencel, senior media
relations officer for the IOM in Washington, D.C., briefly discussed
the release plans and the impact of the East Coast super-storm.

Here is the text of her response:

“The DC area escaped the worst of
Sandy’s thumping but nonetheless our schedules and planning have
been somewhat thrown off as we’re playing catch up after two days
of being shut down and some of our committee members and reviewers
are in the areas that got the brunt of the storm. We’re not sure
whether the storm will cause any delays in peer review, but we’re
working toward the goal of publicly releasing the report in late
November or early December. The study staff is working with committee
members to determine the best release format but I anticipate there
will be a press briefing. I’ll send a media advisory when we’ve
got all the details worked out.”

The stem cell agency is paying for the
report, which is examining the performance of the agency. The IOM
began its work in the summer of 2011.

Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/uqpFc/~3/iNEFrnWvUO0/study-of-california-stem-agency-likely.html

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Geron Weighs Biotime Bid for hESC Biz

Posted: November 4, 2012 at 7:59 am

Geron, Inc., of Menlo Park, Ca., said
today it is assessing an offer by two of its former executives to buy
the human embryonic stem cell program that it abandoned nearly a year
ago.

Geron startled the stem cell world,
including the $3 billion California stem cell agency, when it
jettisoned the first clinical trial of an hESC therapy for financial
reasons. The agency had loaned the company $25 million just a few
months earlier. Geron repaid the loan with interest.

Geron has been mum until today about the Oct. 18 offer by Biotime, Inc., of Alameda, Ca., which is headed
by Michael West, who founded Geron in 1990. Tom Okarma, president of
Geron from 1999 to 2011, is involved with West on the deal and is now
working at Biotime.

Geron's remarks came during a
conference call on its third quarter earnings. A spokesman said the
company is working with Biotime to “assess the feasibility” of
the proposal. He said the proposed transaction is complex and the
company is seeking “additional important details.”

The spokesman declined to offer any
additional comments on the Biotime proposal when questioned following
his initial statement.

See here and here for earlier stories on the California Stem Cell Report on the Biotime offer.

Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/uqpFc/~3/4JnJvoKwHpA/geron-weighs-biotime-bid-for-hesc-biz.html

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Biotime-Geron Deal Attracts Interest from Brit Investor

Posted: November 4, 2012 at 7:59 am

A British investment trust that has
invested in Geron says it is going to take an advantage of an offer
by an Alameda firm that is seeking to acquire Geron's human embryonic
stem cell assets.

Jonathan C. Woolf, managing director
of British & American Investment Trust PLC, said last week in a letter to its
shareholders that it is disappointed in Geron's performance and the abandonment of its hESC program last November. The sudden halt to the
program and its historic clinical trial also surprised the California
stem cell agency, which had loaned Geron $25 million just a few
months earlier. The agency has expressed an interest in continuing the trial.

Woolf said,

“We have been highly critical of
Geron management's decisions and strategy over the past 20 months, in
particular the decision in November 2011 to abruptly exit Geron's
regenerative medicine (stem cell) business in which it was the
acknowledged world leader. Since that time, Geron management has
attempted to sell or partner this business but to date has been
unable to announce any progress on this.”

Woolf's trust is not listed as a major
Geron shareholder by Morningstar, but Woolf said 17 percent of his firm's
investments are in the Menlo Park, Ca., company. The
specific size of the trust's holdings in Geron was not immediately
known.

Woolf pointed to the offer by Biotime,
Inc., of Alameda, Ca., as a way for Geron shareholders to benefit. On
Oct. 18, Biotime proposed a complicated deal in which it would
acquire Geron's hESC program. Biotime's president, Michael West,
founded Geron in 1990. The head of the Biotime subsidiary that would acquire
the Geron assets is Tom Okarma, who was CEO of Geron from 1999 to 2011. (Here are links to brief stories on the offer: Fiercebiotech, New Scientist.)

In his letter, Woolf noted Geron's
declining stock performance. He said he is “seriously concerned”
that Geron has failed to find a buyer for the assets. Woolf said,

“These now dormant and untended
assets are inevitably losing value as competitors make progress in
Geron's absence from the field and patent protection periods
decline.”

Woolf continued,

“We believe BioTime's proposals would
make Geron's stem cell assets in combination with those of BioTime
once again the world's leading stem cell business with sufficient
resources to recommence the discontinued programmes and develop the
business further into the medium term.”

Woolf urged Geron directors and other
Geron shareholders to work with Biotime to complete the deal. Geron
has not commented on the offer.

Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/uqpFc/~3/va_Yea0dbF8/biotime-geron-deal-attracts-interest.html

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