Stem Cell Sciences PLC (STEM)





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FTSE AIM All Share Pharmaceuticals & BiotechnologyMarket cap: 12.600m
Summary
Development and application of stem cells and stem cell technologies in biopharmaceutical research and cell-based therapies
Key Fundamentals Financials - Annual Report (31/12/2005)
Turnover m 0.85
Pre-tax Profit m -2.52
EPS p -12.9
DPS p -

Key People Director Job title
Dr. Michael Dexter Chairman
Dr. Peter Mountford Chief Executive

Latest 3 RNA Heading Date
New license - hMADS 25/07/2006
Strategic Collaboration 17/07/2006

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Stem Cell Sciences to open California office
HAMISH RUTHERFORD

STEM Cell Sciences, the ambitious Edinburgh biotech company, is expanding into the United States as it moves to become a genuine global player.

Already having operations in Australia and an associate company in Japan, the company is in the advanced stages of planning for a Californian sales office to tap into a potentially huge market.

Chief executive Peter Mountford said the company would also seek an academic partner in the US - mirroring its other operations, all linked to universities - and establish an automated cell-production facility in Cambridge to translate current bench-top cell production methods into a process suited to contract cell supply.

The company was spun out from the University of Edinburgh in 1994 to commercialise the work of Mountford and Professor Austin Smith.

In a cutting-edge field, STEM has developed its business model and intellectual property around embryonic and tissue-specific stem cells and aims to tap into the potential the science holds in drug discovery and cell-based therapies. In an expanding product programme it is involved in preclinical research to develop cells for treating central nervous system diseases such as Parkinson's disease.

In the first full-year results since the company floated in July last year, SCS yesterday posted a loss of 2.38m, almost 1m more than in 2004, as operations expanded.

Turnover increased to 847,000, including the first income from the sale of its media products, which enable the growth of stem cells for research and drug discovery, the first commercially available. The company raised 6m when it floated, and finished the year with net cash of 5.2m. Mountford said the company was meeting or exceeding all of its targets. The company plans to be profitable by 2009.

The results prompted little interest on the stock market, with no shares traded yesterday. They are currently at 67p, having hit 100p when the firm floated last July.

Web links

Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority
http://www.hfea.gov.uk/
Cambridge University Stem Cell Institute
http://www.stemcells.cam.ac.uk/
Comment On Reproductive Ethics
http://www.corethics.org/
European Consortium for Stem Cell Research
http://www.eurostemcell.org/index.htm
Institute of Stem Cell Research, Edinburgh Uni
http://www.iscr.ed.ac.uk/
Nuffield Council on Bioethics
http://www.nuffieldbioethics.org/go/ourwork/stemcells/introduction
Roslin Institute
http://www.roslin.ac.uk/

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LONDON (AFX) 25/07/06 - Stem Cell Sciences PLC (STEM) has in-licensed a novel human stem cell, discovered in fat tissue and easily grown, which the company said could help to improve the drug discovery process.

The so-called 'human multi-potent adipocyte-derived stem cell' has been shown by scientists to be capable of producing fat and bone at very high efficiency, and will be suited for drug discovery in such areas as obesity and osteoporosis.

STEM holds world-wide exclusive rights to commercialise the cells for drug discovery in the field of obesity, and an exclusive option in the field of osteoporosis.

The company said the new licence will enable it to position itself as the leading supplier of stem cell derived cell types for drug discovery, a rapidly developing market.

'We have been delighted with the way these cells have performed and expect their addition to our cell-based screening platform will substantially expand the range of discovery assays that we can offer to pharmaceutical industry partners,' chief executive Dr Peter Mountford said in a statement.

Shares in AIM-listed Stem Cells closed Monday at 56.5 pence, valuing the company at 12.6 mln stg.

This looks increasingly interesting but is being igmored by the market. Cash is sound (>5m) and profitability predictions reasonable. Latest Announcement is v. encouraging. Bought a few today. Anybody else watching?

I bought a few around 3 years ago when I read about stem cell sciences in the Daily Mail - Took a punt hoping they would reap rewards, but after months of a flat share price a sold and moved on.
Looking interesting now with the new announcement though - any thoughts on its potential impact?

Morning GD Potts,

Here's some info that I got from their website:

Merck is a global research-driven pharmaceutical company dedicated to putting patients first. We discover, develop, manufacture, and market vaccines and medicines to address unmet medical needs, directly and through alliances with our partners. Our mission is to provide people with superior products and services by developing innovations and solutions that improve the quality of life.

The focus of research at Merck is on innovation in all areas of drug research and development, working on programs to satisfy unmet medical needs.

With approximately 61,500 employees, Merck conducts research at 10 major research centers worldwide, manufactures products in 31 facilities, and operates in more than 140 countries.

Our strategy for growth is based on breakthrough research both internally and externally through partnerships and demonstrating the value of our medicines to patients, payers, and providers. Worldwide sales in 2005 were $22 billion. We continue to invest heavily in research and development, with $3.8 billion in 2005 R&D spending.

Mercks product line includes a broad portfolio of highly innovative prescription products in important therapeutic areas. These include medicines to treat high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol levels, osteoporosis, asthma, benign prostatic hyperplasia, arthritis, migraine, glaucoma, emesis, infectious diseases (antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral agents), and vaccines to prevent childhood diseases and hepatitis A and B.

As you can see with the number of employees, facilities, sales & R&D this is certainly a significant pharma co to obtain a licence agreement with!

As for the potential impact only time will tell! This has always been a long term investment for me, so I havent been to fussed about stagnant SP although it has been trickling northward over the last few months. Due to todays climb I'm now positive and long may it continue.....

Rgds,

Iankn73

Yes, the prognosis is looking increasingly good, but like you chaps I don't see short term potential here. Happy to lock them away for a bit yet. House broker apparently issued a strong buy rec today which probably boosted todays rise. If it doesn't drift back down shortly then maybe we will really attract some attention in the right places.
Have added a medium term chart which seems apt right now. Don't know how to adjust size so haven't added an intraday one too.
rgds.

This one seems to be back in favour with investors. Been nicely ticking up of late. For the first time in months I'm in the blue!

funding to be announced soon,investors from australia,i think

This will take a long, long time to gain confidence as stem cell research does not take place overnight. Moreover, anti stem cell research groups will be a barrier as they deemed this as immoral. The sp has move down again.

Down to 48p now.

Hi hyleo98,

I'm sure this will eventually climb, people will eventually accept this technology in due course!

Our patience will be rewarded! (I hope!)

Interesting article taken from medicalnewstoday.com:



Britain To Go Ahead With Human-Animal Embryos For Research
Main Category: Stem Cell Research News
Article Date: 18 May 2007 - 0:00 PDT
| email to a friend | printer friendly | view or write opinions |
Article Also Appears In

* Parkinson's Disease
* Huntingtons Disease


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The British government published its draft bill to overhaul the 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act this week and it differs from the White Paper introduced late last year in that research using part human part animal embryos is to be allowed after all.

Some news reports are saying this is a major shift by government ministers after the angry reaction to the White Paper from scientists, MPs and patient groups that banning such research would impede medical breakthroughs.

A spokesperson denies this is a U-turn on the part of the government and that while the original stance had been one of prohibition, a door had been left open to allow such research on a case by case basis.

The government was criticized for its opposition to the research by a powerful lobby of scientists backed by Sir David King, the Chief Science Adviser to the government, the Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust.

According to the Department of Health, the new bill, called the Human Tissue and Embryos Bill is intended to "ensure that the law remains effective and fit for purpose in the early 21st century and that it will take account of the latest scientific developments and changing public opinion".

The bill covers a number of areas, including research using three types of human-animal embryo:

* Cytoplasmic embryo or cybrid: where a human cell is inserted into an animal's egg that has been stripped of nearly all its nuclear DNA. The embryo would be 99.9 per cent human and 0.1 per cent animal.
* Human-animal chimera: where animal cells are introduced into human embryos.
* True human-animal hybrids: where a human egg is fertilized by animal sperm or vice versa.

The new bill will allow research to use cybrids and chimera, but not the true human-animal hybrids. If passed, the law will require all such embryos to be destroyed after 14 days; and under no circumstances would it be legal to implant them into a womb.

Two teams of UK scientists are already waiting to get the go ahead to use cybrids to produce embryonic stem cells so they can research new ways to treat a range of degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, motor neurone disease and and Huntington's. Using cybrids would be much cheaper because animal eggs are easier to get hold of than human ones.

The other fertility and embryology areas covered by the new bill include proposals to:

* Allow children conceived from donors to find out if they have any siblings also conceived through donation, once they have reached the age of majority (18).
* Remove the need for the father to be considered in fertility treatment. This would mean for example that clinics would not be able to deny lesbians and single mothers fertility treatment on legal grounds.
* Deny parents the right to select the sex of their embryo for non-medical reasons.
* Extend the statutory embryo storage period to 10 years from the current 5.
* Give parental rights to civil partners.
* Introduce a cooling off period of up to one year if consent to store embryos is withdrawn by one of the parents.
* Allow embryos to be screened for serious medical conditions and tissue matching.
* Merge the current fertility watchdog, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority and the Human Tissue Authority into one regulatory body to be called the Regulatory Authority for Tissue and Embryos (RATE).

Scientists are still worried that the legislation will not reflect this new position on human animal embryos since it is not included in the bill itself but in a set of proposals to be considered alongside it. The draft bill is being reviewed by a committee that reports at the end of July after which it will be debated in parliament.

The committee will look into the question of whether the embryo research should be covered by statute or whether the new fertility watchdog should be given powers to issue licences on a case by case basis.

Down again to 41.5p now. STEM will go down to 20p. Embryonic research is deemed immoral and this would not gain public interest at all. Legislation will be lengthy and very likely not approved.

hi hlyeo98,

This was never going to be a stock that was to move north overnight. If Stem Cell technology lives upto ones expectation of developing safe and effective stem cell-based therapies for currently incurable diseases. I'm sure the question of 'immorality' will soon be forgotten by the general public.

I cant deny that the current price hasnt made me a little uneasy!

Good luck

Ian

hlyeo98's prediction not looking so pessimistic now! But I remain more in tune with Ian and feel that the benefits will outweigh the objectors in the long term. The drop from heady heights only 7 months ago is concerning but drifts like this are common in AIM stocks in the absence of any news. (Even the recent EU funding appears to have been ignored... http://www.advfn.com/p.php?pid=nmona&article=22420867&epic=STEM ) There was also a Dun and Bradstreet 'negative performance indicators' warning in June which didn't help... never got to the bottom of what that was all about.

Any positive news should result in a sharp jump so the brave would regard this as a good buying opportunity! I'm not liquid enough to be brave at present!

25.5p now...still on the dive. As I have said before, stem cell research is not a place to invest.