Obama Presidency Pushes Stem Cell Hopes
Posted on: Tuesday, 11 November 2008, 08:05 CST
A soon to be Barack Obama presidency has been a boon for companies who have been developing therapies based on stem cells.
Over the weekend, Obama said he plans to reverse an existing executive order against federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research.
Research related to embryonic stem cells has been under political scrutiny for a long time due to ethical issues, as it involves the destruction or manipulation of human embryos.
However, Geron Corp and StemCells Inc saw a major rise in their stock price as investors rushed to be a part of a field that holds significant commercial potential.
"People now know what the future executive landscape is going to look like, and they are trying to figure out how to profit from it," WBB Securities analyst Steve Brozak said.
Experts say stem cells are the body's master cells, giving rise to tissues, organs and blood.
Scientists want to harness their power to transform medicine, to repair injuries, replace the brain cells lost in Parkinson's disease, cure juvenile diabetes, or treat diseases such as Alzheimer's.
President George W. Bush vetoed bills to expand federally funded embryonic stem-cell research.
Instead, Bush backed adult stem-cell research that is considered more ethical by many conservative voters.
If Democrat Obama reverses President Bush's long-standing policy, which restricts funding for stem-cell research, it would give a boost to companies seeking to develop therapies based on that research.
Geron said its potential HIV treatment, TAT2, had promising preclinical data, while biotech giant Celgene Corp got a regulatory nod to go ahead with human trials of its experimental stem-cell therapy for the treatment of Crohn's disease.
"We will see more and more of these events just given the fact that there is more and more path for the commercialization of stem cells -- adult, placental, umbilical and now, more embryonic," WBB's Brozak said.
Geron shares increased 16 percent, while StemCells' shares soared 42 percent.
Smaller companies like Neuralstem Inc, NeoStem Inc and BioHeart Inc also saw an increase in their share price.
Source: redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports
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