新公司以人类脂肪组织中的干细胞为研究焦点
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - StemSource, a biotechnology startup that plans to develop therapies from stem cells found in human fat tissue, has completed an initial $2 million round of funding led by the medical device company Macropore.
A European venture capital fund and several angel investors also participated in the funding, StemSource Chief Financial Officer Terry Butler told Reuters Health.
StemSource has licensed from the University of California a portfolio of patents related to methods and processes of isolating stem cells in fat tissue, said Butler. The portfolio also includes patents for the types of tissues that can be grown from the stem cells.
StemSource CEO Dr. Marc Hedrick discovered the company's platform technology in his laboratory at the University of California at Los Angeles and started the company earlier this year.
Hedrick and his research team at UCLA isolated stem cells in fat tissue saved from liposuction procedures. In April, they published an article in the journal Tissue Engineering reporting that the stem cells were capable of differentiating into adipogenic, chondrogenic, myogenic, and osteogenic cells and could be stored for prolonged periods with stable growth characteristics and a low senescence rate.
Hedrick told Reuters Health at the time of the article's publication that he believed fat-tissue-derived stem cell therapy eventually could be applied to breast reconstruction after mastectomy, bone engineering, diseases involving muscle paralysis and muscle loss, and diseases requiring cartilage building.
Because fat tissue is abundant in many humans and is a less controversial source of stem cells than discarded embryos are, StemSource's methods could prove to be a desirable way to access the progenitor cells. "The technology being developed at StemSource answers a huge need we have in medical science today--the need for a consistent supply of stem cells," Macropore CEO Christopher Calhoun said in a statement. "That's why we are enthusiastic about the prospects for StemSource."
StemSource said Monday that it expects to post revenues early in 2002. The company's newly-opened 15,000-square-foot headquarters in Thousand Oaks, California include 7,000 square feet of existing wet lab space.
Butler said the company probably would complete another round of financing before the end of the year., http://www.100md.com
A European venture capital fund and several angel investors also participated in the funding, StemSource Chief Financial Officer Terry Butler told Reuters Health.
StemSource has licensed from the University of California a portfolio of patents related to methods and processes of isolating stem cells in fat tissue, said Butler. The portfolio also includes patents for the types of tissues that can be grown from the stem cells.
StemSource CEO Dr. Marc Hedrick discovered the company's platform technology in his laboratory at the University of California at Los Angeles and started the company earlier this year.
Hedrick and his research team at UCLA isolated stem cells in fat tissue saved from liposuction procedures. In April, they published an article in the journal Tissue Engineering reporting that the stem cells were capable of differentiating into adipogenic, chondrogenic, myogenic, and osteogenic cells and could be stored for prolonged periods with stable growth characteristics and a low senescence rate.
Hedrick told Reuters Health at the time of the article's publication that he believed fat-tissue-derived stem cell therapy eventually could be applied to breast reconstruction after mastectomy, bone engineering, diseases involving muscle paralysis and muscle loss, and diseases requiring cartilage building.
Because fat tissue is abundant in many humans and is a less controversial source of stem cells than discarded embryos are, StemSource's methods could prove to be a desirable way to access the progenitor cells. "The technology being developed at StemSource answers a huge need we have in medical science today--the need for a consistent supply of stem cells," Macropore CEO Christopher Calhoun said in a statement. "That's why we are enthusiastic about the prospects for StemSource."
StemSource said Monday that it expects to post revenues early in 2002. The company's newly-opened 15,000-square-foot headquarters in Thousand Oaks, California include 7,000 square feet of existing wet lab space.
Butler said the company probably would complete another round of financing before the end of the year., http://www.100md.com