NeoStem, Schepens Eye Research Institute collaborate to develop therapies for AMD and Glaucoma

NeoStem, Inc. (NYSE Amex: NBS) ("NeoStem" or the "Company"), an international biopharmaceutical company with operations in the U.S. and China, announced today that it has entered into a sponsored research agreement (SRA) with the Schepens Eye Research Institute, a charitable corporation of Massachusetts and an affiliate of Harvard Medical School.  NeoStem will collaborate with the Schepens Institute and sponsor research in the laboratories of principal investigators Drs. Michael Young, Ph.D., Director of the Institute's Minda de Gunzburg Center for Ocular Regeneration, and Kameran Lashkari, M.D.  The focus of the research will be on the development of therapies for both age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and Glaucoma.

Retinal degenerative diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and Glaucoma are currently the leading cause of incurable blindness in the western world.  1.8 million Americans suffer from vision loss due to AMD and an additional 7 million people are at substantial risk of suffering vision loss from AMD.  By 2013, some experts agree that the cost domestically relating to AMD will be nearly $2.3 billion.  Currently, 4 million Americans suffer from Glaucoma at a total cost of approximately $1.5 billion dollars domestically.

The research will examine in animal models the regenerative potential of NeoStem's VSEL™ Technology in the visual system through the engraftment of very small embryonic-like stem cells.  Very small embryonic-like stem cells are a heterogeneous population of stem cells found in adult bone marrow that have properties similar to those of embryonic stem cells. NeoStem has shown that very small embryonic-like stem cells can be mobilized into the peripheral blood, enabling a minimally invasive means for collecting what NeoStem believes to be an important population of stem cells that may have the potential to achieve the positive benefits associated with embryonic stem cells without the ethical or moral dilemmas or the potential negative effects associated with embryonic stem cells.  

"Our research team is looking forward to leveraging our adult stem cell expertise to advance the understanding and development of very small embryonic like stem cells for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration and Glaucoma through our collaboration with the Schepens Institute," said Robin Smith, M.D., Chairman and CEO of NeoStem. "We are excited to gain access to the expertise in ocular regeneration offered by Drs. Michael Young, Kameran Lashkari and the Schepens Institute through this important project."

"We are enthusiastic about working with NeoStem to explore the regenerative potential of their human VSEL Technology," said Dr. Michael Young, one of the principal investigators in the study. "Our goal in this project is to gain a better understanding of the plasticity of stem cells from different compartments of the body, and the very small embryonic-like stem cells from NeoStem represent an exciting new source of cells with potential to repair the diseased central nervous system, including the retina."