New York, Sept. 9, 2013 — NeoStem, Inc. (Nasdaq: NBS) (“NeoStem” or the “Company”), a leader in the emerging cellular therapy market, is pleased to announce that three experts at the forefront of asthma research have agreed to serve as consultant advisors to NeoStem’s Regulatory T cell program. William Busse, M.D., of the University of Wisconsin, Mario Castro, M.D., M.P.H, of the Washington University in St Louis, and Prescott Woodruff, M.D., M.P.H., of the University of California, San Francisco (“UCSF”), will be collaborating with NeoStem to advise and provide support in the area of asthma research. Each of the consultants brings a breadth of experience in research to assist the Company in determining the appropriate clinical endpoints for a clinical trial in steroid resistant asthma.
“We are fortunate to have some of the brightest minds in asthma research working with and advising our team,” said Dr. Andrew Pecora, Chief Visionary Officer of NeoStem. “Their expertise will help our own experienced NeoStem scientists to create a robust protocol for clinical trials in the area of steroid resistant asthma.”
Asthma is a serious health and economic concern that affects millions. In 2010, 18.7 million adults had asthma (1 in 12 adults) and seven million children had asthma (1 in 11 children). Asthma is also expensive, costing the United States $56 billion each year.
The formation of this consulting group comes on the heels of a recently announced collaboration between NeoStem and the UCSF laboratories of Jeffrey Bluestone, PhD, and Qizhi Tang, PhD, to work in partnership on the development of Treg therapies for the treatment of type 1 diabetes, steroid resistant asthma and organ transplant rejection. The retention of these consultants complements the Company’s commitment to the development and commercialization of immunomodulatory cellular therapeutic products for the treatment of intractable diseases involving the immune system.
“The added expertise of Drs. Busse, Castro, and Woodruff, together with the collaboration we recently entered into with Drs. Bluestone and Tang at UCSF, gives NeoStem tremendous insight as we develop our clinical trial protocols,” said Dr. Robin L. Smith, Chairman and CEO of NeoStem. “We will greatly benefit from the advice and support of these disease-area experts, and we look forward to their contributions as we endeavor to move our program ahead into the clinical phase.”
Dr. Douglas W. Losordo, Chief Medical Officer of NeoStem, added, “This project continues NeoStem’s methodical expansion of its development programs, targeting conditions that require chronic treatment with innovative cell-based therapies intended to restore health and eliminate the need for ongoing treatment.”
About NeoStem, Inc.
NeoStem, Inc. (“NeoStem” or the “Company”) is a leader in the emerging cellular therapy industry. Our business model includes the development of novel proprietary cell therapy products as well as operating a contract development and manufacturing organization providing services to others in the regenerative medicine industry. The combination of a therapeutic development business and revenue-generating service provider business provides the Company with capabilities for cost effective in-house product development and immediate revenue and cash flow generation.
Read Next
