Healthcare Industry News: Essential Medical
News Release - December 20, 2006
NeoStem Announces Five-Year Agreement With HemaCare for Adult Stem Cell Collection Services
HemaCare Will Collect at Their Facilities and Provide Assistance in Training and Opening NeoStem Collection CentersNEW YORK, NY--(Healthcare Sales & Marketing Network)--Dec 20, 2006 -- NeoStem, Inc. (OTC BB:NEOI.OB ), a company specializing in the collection, processing and long-term storage of Adult Stem Cells (ASCs) for autologous use, today announced a five-year agreement with HemaCare , Corporation to provide NeoStem with collection services for the procurement of adult stem cells from peripheral blood for the purpose of long-term storage.
NeoStem expects this relationship to foster the Company's growth by increasing its adult stem cell collection capacity and helping to expand its collection infrastructure through HemaCare's mobile units and freestanding facilities in Maine and Sherman Oaks, California.
Mark Weinreb, President of NeoStem, stated, "HemaCare will provide NeoStem with all of the Essential Medical protocols and standard operating procedures required for the out-patient collection of adult stem cells as well as the training expertise for our third-party collection network."
HemaCare, a well-known provider of blood products and services to the U.S. healthcare industry, will provide apheresis services for the purpose of long-term storage exclusively to NeoStem for a period of five years. HemaCare will perform these services at its own or NeoStem facilities, or at a third-party center affiliated with NeoStem including members of NeoStem's Physician's Network. Under the agreement, HemaCare's main facility in Sherman Oaks, California, becomes an additional Adult Stem Cell Collection Center for NeoStem and HemaCare will provide collection services throughout California and the East Coast.
Robin L. Smith, MD, MBA, NeoStem's Chief Executive Officer, said, "We are very pleased to finalize this agreement with HemaCare, whose high-quality, cost-effective blood services are well-known to hospitals and medical communities throughout California and on the East Coast. This collaboration will make adult stem cell collections easier for doctors to perform on an outpatient basis and more accessible for individuals who want their stem cells safely collected and conveniently banked for personal and therapeutic use as needed in the future. Adult stem cells are becoming an important element in regenerative medicine and treatments for numerous diseases. They have already provided helpful treatment in certain cases of heart disease, autoimmune disease such as lupus, radiation exposure and wound healing. We anticipate many more clinical applications using adult stem cells."
About NeoStem, Inc.
NeoStem, Inc. (OTC BB:NEOI.OB ) is an innovative, publicly traded company positioned to become a leader in the adult stem cell field and to capitalize on the increasing importance that adult stem cells are expected to play in the future of regenerative medicine.
Using its proprietary process, NeoStem provides the infrastructure, methods and systems that allow adults to have their stem cells safely collected and conveniently banked for future therapeutic use, as needed, in the treatment of such life-threatening diseases as diabetes, heart disease and radiation sickness that may result from a bio-terrorist attack. Adult stem cell therapy has also been used for many years in treating blood cancer. Further potential uses include regenerative therapies for wound healing, autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and lupus, and age-related degenerative musculoskeletal diseases.
NeoStem uses the least invasive form of collection called apheresis, a well-known, safe procedure that extracts stem cells from an adult's peripheral blood. Once collected, NeoStem's storage process allows the cells to be cryo-preserved during an individual's lifetime for use when needed. The management, Board of Directors and Advisors of NeoStem collectively have significant technical, medical and scientific expertise as well as substantial experience in life science marketing and business development.
Certain statements in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements concerning the ability of NeoStem, Inc. ("the Company") to develop the adult stem cell business, the future of regenerative medicine and the role of adult stem cells in that future, the future use of adult stem cells as a treatment option and the potential revenue growth of the Company's business. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The Company' s ability to enter the adult stem cell arena and future operating results are dependent upon many factors, including but not limited to (i) the Company's ability to obtain sufficient capital or a strategic business arrangement to fund its expansion plans; (ii) the Company's ability to build the management and human resources and infrastructure necessary to support the growth of its business and obtain appropriate state licenses; (iii) competitive factors and developments beyond the Company's control;(iv) scientific and medical developments beyond the Company's control and (v) other risk factors discussed in the Company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission which are available for review at www.sec.gov under "Search for Company Filings."
Pursuant to an October 1, 2006 agreement, Consulting For Strategic Growth I, Ltd. ("CFSG1") NeoStem Inc. with consulting, business advisory, investor relations, public relations and corporate development services, for which CFSG1 receives a fixed monthly fee for the duration of the agreement and received shares of NeoStem's common stock. Independent of CFSG1's receipt of cash or other compensation from the Company, CFSG1 may choose to purchase the common stock of the Company and thereafter sell those shares at any time it deems appropriate to do so. For more information, please visit www.cfsg1.com.
Source: NeoStem
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