Stem Cell Therapy 2010: Where Are We Headed?

2009 was marked by five main trends (not necessarily in order of importance):

1. The credit crisis and economic downturn which prompted Sector Companies to reduce costs or provide greater investment incentives to raise money from new investors.  The good news is that most Stem Cell Sector Companies that needed cash were able to raise it in a generally hostile financing environment.


2. Research moved into the clinical stage with confusing results.  For the most part this is because U.S. clinical disease related trials have addressed only patients with diseases where there is no hope and stem cells are a last resort.  Alternatively, trials have been run in heart and osteopathic arenas where results have generally been positive but not total therapeutic cures.  Where the FDA has been involved, trials have been small in number of participants as proving safety is the FDA's first priority with efficacy a distant second.


3. Big pharma made its move to be part of future stem cell therapy by investing in three of our Sector Companies with mesenchymal stem cell products.


4. The new administration loosened the guidelines for stem cell lines that could be used for research funded by federal grants. 


5. Several Stem Cell Sector Companies expanded their product offerings in the sale of stem cells and stem cell lines to other researchers.

What will 2010 bring?

1. Greater understanding of exactly how stem cells do what they do. 


2. Greater ability to manipulate and manage stem cells, both embryonic and adult, with notable advances in the efficient creation of iPS cells and their subsequent application.


3. More knowledge of specific stem cell therapies as a result of tests currently under way both abroad and in the United States.


4. Greater knowledge of safety and efficacy issues involved with allogeneic stem cell therapy.


5. Real application advances in the areas of orthopedic, heart, minor cosmetic reconstruction, skin rejuvenation, diabetes, and perhaps even certain neurological diseases. 


6. Expansion of stem cell research and therapeutic application available in Asia.  This is due to less restrictive state approval systems, large local populations and resulting market, and lower therapeutic costs.


7. Greater medical tourism, especially from the U.S. to Asia, seeking stem cell therapies.


8. Consolidation of companies within the sector if a broad stem cell source becomes an issue in stem cell therapy.  For example, the question of adipose vs. bone marrow stem cells may be one that is answered in various forms of heart disease.


9. Some Stem Cell Sector companies will achieve profitability.


10. Additional broadening of NIH stem cell line requirements as to possible stem cell research approaches available for federal funding as tests, both foreign and domestic, prove both safety and efficacy in stem cell therapy.

Comments

[Alexey]

I'd add a trend: iPS technology got commercialized for the first time in 2009 (iZumi, Cellular Dynamics, Stemgent...)