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To: Dave Gore who wrote (732)	6/7/2001 12:24:23 PM
From: Dave Gore	Respond to of 1227

REUTERS) StemCells wins two new patents, shares jump StemCells wins two new patents, shares jump NEW YORK, June 7 (Reuters) - StemCells Inc. <STEM.O> on Thursday said it won two U.S. patents involving the harvest of neural stem cells and the identification of stem cells for the pancreas and liver in mice, spurring a rally in shares of the biotech firm. Shares of Palo Alto, California-based StemCells were up 63 cents, or 19.2 percent, to $3.91 on the Nasdaq. They have traded in the past year in a range of $1.47 to $11.67. Stem cells are a variety of naturally occurring cells that theoretically can be harvested, grown in laboratories and then injected in patients to regenerate tissues of specific organs. Neural cells, for instance, are being researched to see if they can help treat patients with neurological ailments like Parkinson's Disease. StemCells said one of its two new patents covers a new method to separate neural stem cells in order to grow them in culture. "This method allows us to expand and harvest a significantly greater number of viable cells than was previously possible. It should help us to develop a more efficient manufacturing process for human neural stem cells and to scale up production of cells as we continue our preclinical research and development," said Dr. Nobuko Uchida, a research executive for the firm. The company said it now owns or has exclusive licenses to 25 issued U.S. patents in the neural stem cell field. The second patent covers a means of identifying stem cells for the pancreas and liver in mice, which the company said might help lead to ways of isolating human stem cells capable of regenerating the two organs in people. "The advantage conferred by these mice is that they provide a source of actively regenerating cells, possibly stem cells, from the pancreas," the company said in a prepared statement. ((Ransdell Pierson, Health Desk, 212 859-1736)) REUTERS * end of story *