NIH awards NeoStem a GO grant to investigate the potential of stem cells in regenerating bone

Oct 7 2009

NeoStem, Inc. (NYSE Amex: NBS), which is pioneering the pre-disease collection, processing and long-term storage of adult stem cells for future medical need and holder of the exclusive, worldwide license to VSEL(TM) Technology that uses very small embryonic-like stem cells isolated from peripheral blood, announced today that it has been awarded a grant of $108,746 for the repair of bone defects by human stem cells under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (RRA) of 2009 from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Disease (NIAMS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

This award will fund studies to investigate the potential of very small embryonic-like stem cells to regenerate bone in an animal model. These very small embryonic-like stem cells are isolated from adults' own peripheral blood using NeoStem's proprietary isolation methods. The Company intends to undertake this work in collaboration with Dr. Russell Taichman, Professor of Dentistry, Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry. "We are honored to have been granted this award," commented Dr. Denis Rodgerson, Senior Scientist at NeoStem. "It will enable us, together with Dr. Taichman as co-principal investigator, and his colleagues, Drs. Paul Kresbach and David Kohn, to explore the significant potential for the VSEL(TM) Technology as an autologous adult stem cell-based therapy for osteoporosis and other bone diseases."

Under the Recovery Act, the NIH has established a new program entitled Research and Research Infrastructure "Grand Opportunities," also known as the "GO" grants program. This new program is designed to support large-scale research projects that accelerate critical breakthroughs, early and applied research on cutting-edge technologies, and new approaches to improve the synergy and interactions among multi and interdisciplinary research teams. The program is intended for research activities that have high, short-term impact, and a high likelihood of enabling growth and investment in biomedical research and development in new fields of investigation. "We are gratified to receive this funding from NIH," said Robin Smith, M.D., MBA, NeoStem's Chief Executive Officer. "Our broad range of clinical research activities supports our novel approach to characterizing adult pluripotent stem cells taken from peripheral blood. We believe that our VESL technology will emerge as a competitive differentiator that will put us at the forefront of advances with autologous adult stem cell therapies in the field of regenerative medicine."