MUCL stock alert. Now .325 LOOK
MultiCell Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB: MUCL) $0.34
Perhaps the most talked about area in biotechnology today is stem cells. With stocks like Aastrom Biosciences, StemCell and Geron Corporation red-hot, we decided to look for other intriguing opportunities. We did not have to look far, as MultiCell Technologies, Inc., a leading supplier of functional non-tumorigenic immortalized human hepatocytes, holds a patent on an adult stem cell technique that is safe from much of the recent controversy surrounding embryonic stem cells.
MultiCell is developing novel strategies for isolation of adult hmucuman liver stem cells. Liver stem cells may play a key role in transplantation for tissue regeneration as well as other diagnostic and therapeutic applications. The use of liver stem cells has the potential to treat diseases such as Hepatitis C, which may significantly enhance the quality of life and obviate the need for costly whole organ liver transplantation. MultiCell believes its stem cell technologies create a unique position within the cell therapy market. Since the company’s stem cells will be obtained from adult tissues, its methodology avoids the ethical issues often associated with embryonic stem cells.
Late Friday, the opportunity became even more interesting, as the company appointed Anthony Cataldo as its non-executive Co-Chairman and announced that it had completed a private placement raising $4 million. For those who may remember, we initiated coverage of two other companies that Mr. Cataldo was Chairman of. The first, Calypte Biomedical, increased from 12 cents to a high of $1.76 in less than three months. The second, BrandPartners, doubled in less than six months. MUCL also hired Stephen Chang Ph.D. as its new President. Dr. Chang is currently CEO of Astral Therapeutics, a privately held biotechnology company. Previously, Dr. Chang was Chief Science Officer and Vice President of Canji, Inc./Schering Plough Research Institute from 1998 to 2004. Could Mr. Cataldo be tracking a big winner again? MultiCell’s liver cell technology appears promising, as demonstrated by Eisai Co., Ltd., a Japanese pharmaceutical corporation, entering into a three-year use and propagation license for MultiCell’s hepatocytes.
MultiCell's immortalized human liver cells have demonstrated the ability to replace the need for continuous procurement and quality testing of primary cells from unpredictable anatomical gifts. Expanded from MultiCell cell banks, the company’s cell lines have significant cost and quality control advantages over primary cell sources. MultiCell's proprietary human immortalized hepatic cell lines radically differ from other cell lines in that they are non-tumorigenic yet regenerate while maintaining significant liver function. The company’s unique cell lines may be expanded in mass cultures to produce naturally-processed therapeutic proteins to treat a variety of metabolic deficiencies or transplanted to restore liver function following the onset of disease.
The company currently has a market capitalization of approximately $41 million. By contrast, stem cells companies such as Aastrom Biosciences ($267 million), Geron Corporation ($350 million) and StemCells ($263 million) have market capitalizations that far exceed MultiCell. Shares of MUCL, while undervalued by comparison, have been red-hot since the beginning of the year, rallying 89%. Still, the stock is down from $0.51 at the end of 2003 and less than half of its 52-week high of $0.68 established nearly one year ago. Will Mr. Cataldo work his magic again? With $4 million in new capital, and opportunities in a red-hot sector, MultiCell may become the next stem cell company to capture the attention of investors. |
