Boston, MA, August 10, 2001 - ViaCell, Inc., a fully-integrated cellular therapy company committed to enabling the development of additional therapeutic applications for umbilical cord blood stem cells, commended the Bush Administration’s decision to support additional funding for alternative sources of stem cells. Umbilical cord blood is considered an attractive alternative source and is an abundant and non-controversial store of neonatal stem cells.
ViaCell has pioneered a platform technology, Selective Amplification™, that enables the expansion of the umbilical cord blood stem cell population. This technology coupled with the company’s premier cord blood banking division, Viacord, and the government’s commitment to alternative stem cell source funding well positions ViaCell’s future.
4.2 million newborns are delivered in the United States each year. Their cord blood, previously discarded as medical waste, is now known to contain a rich supply of neonatal stem cells. Cord blood stem cells have the following key advantages. They are clinically used in the therapy of over 45 diseases. These cells are more tolerant to tissue type disparity than adult stem cells and cause less graft versus host disease (GVHD). Cord blood stem cells can be differentiated into various cell types and are not encumbered by the moral and ethical considerations that surround embryonic stem cells.
Research utilizing undifferentiated stem cells from umbilical cord blood demonstrates that these cells are capable of differentiating into various cell types, i.e. hematopoietic, mesenchymal and neural cells. These properties of cord blood stem cells are similar to those shown by embryonic stem cells, but are without the ethical and moral concerns.
About ViaCell, Inc. ViaCell, Inc. is a cellular medicine company committed to providing the highest quality cellular products for the treatment of cancer, genetic diseases, immune deficiencies, and neurological diseases. ViaCell offers umbilical cord blood stem cell banking services through Viacord, a division of ViaCell, and is developing amplified, high-definition stem cell products based on its patented technology for the expansion of stem cells. ViaCell is preparing an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to initiate human clinical trials designed to demonstrate the safety, efficacy and clinical benefits of selectively amplified stem cells from umbilical cord blood.