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Biotech / Medical : Geron Corp. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: tom pope who wrote (2812)	1/26/2005 4:52:45 PM
From: Savant	Respond to of 3576

Could be that they don't need more funding at the present time, so don't worry about the impact on the PPS. S.

To: tom pope who wrote (2812)	1/26/2005 5:16:40 PM
From: Savant	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3576

Cos response was on the DJN, =DJ 2nd UPDATE: Stem Cell Cos: Not Affected By Study 01/24/2005 Dow Jones News Services (Copyright © 2005 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.) (Updates throughout, including comment from StemCells Inc.) By Roger Cheng Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Despite a study claiming human embryonic stem cells grown in non-human environments are contaminated, the major companies conducting stem cell research say they aren't affected. Still, StemCells Inc.'s (STEM) shares fell 14.7% to $5.04, Aastrom Biosciences Inc.'s (ASTM) shares declined 17.3% to $3.31, and Geron Corp.'s (GERN) shares declined 3.6% to $8.28. Stocks of the stem cell research companies fell Monday on published reports that embryonic stem cell lines eligible for federally funded research are tainted. The human embryonic stem cells were contaminated with non-human molecules from the culture medium used to grow the cells, according to scientists at the University of California, San Diego. The Associated Press and the Los Angeles Times both reported on the study, published Sunday in the online edition of Nature Medicine. Scientists hope to use the stem cells to develop numerous types of cells to form organs and other parts of the body. The cells can then be used to repair damaged organs and cure diseases. StemCells President and Chief Executive Martin McGlynn noted the company doesn't engage in embryonic stem cell research, and instead works with adult-derived tissue. "It's not an issue for us with our technology," he said. The company's vice president of research and development, Ann Tsukamoto, said the stem cells are supported by a culture that doesn't have additional human or animal cells. "We would not have the same downstream effect of having rodent cells being transferred to human cells," she said. Stephen Dunn, an analyst at Dawson James Securities, said that the news about contamination shouldn't be a surprise to the scientific community. Currently available stem cell lines have been grown in materials derived from animals. Such materials include connective tissue cells, called feeder layers, from mice and fetal calf serum. Last summer, more than half the members of the Senate urged easing limits on new cell lines, noting that potential contamination could make use of available lines for humans uncertain. Another company "unfairly" targeted in the sell-off is Aastrom, Dunn said. The company conducts stem cell research, but uses adult cells from the patient, and not embryonic cells, which are taken from days-old embryos, who then die. Aastrom spokeswoman Becky Anderson said the embryonic side of stem cell research is often driven by the media and by politics, and Aastrom is often lost in the shuffle. Dunn said that Aastrom is a victim of "headline risk," and not reality. Unlike other stem cell companies, Aastrom is eligible for federal funding for its research. The analyst doesn't own shares in Aastrom, but his firm is seeking an investment-banking relationship with the company. Geron Corp. believes it's in a similar situation. The study doesn't affect the company, since it has a proprietary method of growing stem cells without the use of animal cells or proteins, said President and Chief Executive Dr. Tom Okarma. The company eliminated the use of growing cells in animal culture a long time ago, he said. "The UC San Diego story is a story about history, and not the current state-of-the-art practices of Geron," Okarma said. The White House later shrugged off the study, with Press Secretary Scott McClellan saying the president is satisfied that the existing lines are "adequate" for the "basic research that needs to be done," according to an AP report. -By Roger Cheng, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5393; roger.cheng@dowjones.com f/b Linda K