International Stem Cell Corporation (OTCBB:ISCO),
www.intlstemcell.com,
a company creating human stem cell lines from unfertilized eggs,
disclosed today that its previously announced creation of human,
cornea-like tissue in a petri dish had become the subject of an article
titled "Biotech Could Take Rabbits Off Lab Duty" in the December 11,
2009 edition of Discovery News.
In the article, reporter Alyssa Danigelis writes about how, while
growing stem cells in the lab using blastocysts, researchers at
International Stem Cell spotted something in the waste products usually
discarded from the petri dish that turned out to be a tiny translucent
structure of cells that resembled a human cornea.
This little ball of cells, the article explained, might actually spare
animals from lab testing and be used for transplants in humans. Many
cosmetics, drug, and chemical companies still put their products in live
rabbits' eyes for safety testing, a process that is not only awful for
the animals, but time-consuming and expensive.
Mr. Kenneth Aldrich, ISCO's Chairman, was reported as saying that an
initial round of testing with the ISCO corneas demonstrated that they
have the same permeability as the rabbit eyes. The lab-grown corneas may
also have the potential to be transplanted into humans one day. He went
on to mention that this could make a big difference in countries where
it's difficult to get refrigerated donor corneas to patients in time.
Currently the company is repeating a round of validation testing to
confirm the permeability results.
The Discovery News article is available at: http://news.discovery.com/tech/biotech-could-take-rabbits-off-lab-duty.html ABOUT INTERNATIONAL STEM CELL CORPORATION (ISCO.OB):
International Stem Cell Corporation is a California biotechnology
company focused on developing therapeutic and research products. ISCO's
technology, Parthenogenesis, results in the creation of
pluripotent human stem cell lines from unfertilized human eggs. ISCO
scientists have created the first Parthenogenetic homozygous stem
cell line (phSC-Hhom-4) that can be a source of therapeutic cells
that will minimize immune rejection after transplantation into hundreds
of millions of individuals of differing sexes, ages and racial groups.
These advancements offer the potential to create the first true "Stem
Cell Bank" and address ethical issues by eliminating the need to use or
destroy fertilized embryos. ISCO also produces and markets specialized
cells and growth media worldwide for therapeutic research through its
subsidiary Lifeline Cell Technology. For more information, visit the
ISCO website at: www.internationalstemcell.com.
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Key Words: Stem Cells, Biotechnology, Parthenogenesis
International Stem Cell Corporation Kenneth C. Aldrich, Chairman 760-940-6383 kaldrich@intlstemcell.com or Brian
Lundstrom, President 760-640-6383 bl@intlstemcell.com or The
Investor Relations Group Investor Relations: James Carbonara 212-825-3210 jcarbonara@investorrelationsgroup.com or Media
Relations: Laura Colontrelle 212-825-3210 lcolontrelle@investorrelationsgroup.com |