Stem Cell Therapeutics Corp., of Toronto, said the company's stock will trade on OTCQX International under the symbol "SCTPF" starting May 20

Pluristem Therapeutics Inc., of Haifa, Israel, identified a first clinical indication for its Placental eXpanded (PLX) RAD cells: to enhance engraftment of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in patients experiencing delays or failure of their bone marrow transplants

VistaGen Therapeutics Inc., of South San Francisco, said its human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes were used by collaboration partner Duke University to grow three-dimensional (3D) human heart muscle...Duke researchers combined VistaGen's human stem cell-derived heart cells with tissue engineering and cardiac electrophysiology technologies to grow what they described as a "heart patch," which mimics the natural functions of native human heart tissue

BNC101 is designed to target cancer stem cells, with preclinical data demonstrating functional activity against LGR5

Sentien is developing an allogeneic cell therapy product consisting of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells seeded onto a medical device for critical care indications

Addex Therapeutics SA, of Geneva, reported preclinical data showing that its mGlu5 negative allosteric modulator oral small molecule, dipraglurant, dose-dependently prevented the abnormal excitatory effect observed on brain slices of transgenic primary generalized torsion dystonia 1 (DYT1) mice overexpressing the human mutant TOR1A gene by decreasing the paradoxical neuronal activity induced by the dopamine D2 receptor agonist quinpirole. DYT1 is a common and severe genetic form of dystonia

BNC101 is designed to target cancer stem cells, with preclinical data demonstrating functional activity against LGR5

Fate Therapeutics Inc., of San Diego, presented preclinical data showing that its WNT7, a protein analogue for the treatment of muscular dystrophy, produced dose-dependent muscle hypertrophy and several-fold expansion of the satellite stem cell population when given as an intramuscular injection in an MDX mouse model

Stem Cell Therapeutics Corp., of Toronto, said it executed a license agreement with University Health Network (UHN), developed in collaboration with MaRS Innovation, providing the company with exclusive worldwide rights to a clinical cancer stem cell program

Gentium SpA, of Villa Guardia, Italy, said it requested a re-examination of the negative opinion adopted by the European Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) March 22, regarding the marketing authorization application (MAA) submitted for defibrotide to treat and prevent hepatic veno-occlusive disease in adults and children undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation therapy

In the prospective, randomized study, patients with chronic heart failure secondary to ischemic cardiomyopathy received treatment with their own stem cells engineered to become progenitors of cardiac cells

PRCN-829 is designed to deliver multiple genes, including Factor H, to neural stem cells

StemCells Inc., of Newark, Calif., said it entered an agreement with the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), under which CIRM will provide about $19.3 million to help fund preclinical development and investigational new drug application (IND)-enabling activities of the firm's HuCNS-SC product candidate (purified human neural stem cells) for Alzheimer's disease

Stem Cell Therapeutics Corp., of Toronto, said it completed its merger with Trillium Therapeutics Inc., also of Toronto, after shareholders of Trillium voted overwhelmingly to support the merger...The deal adds Trillium's cancer stem cell therapy to SCT's portfolio

Bioheart Inc., of Sunrise, Fla., said it completed the FDA tissue bank registration process and is offering stem cell storage for patients enrolled in the studies at the centers of excellence outside the U.S. The trials focus on the use of LipiCell (adipose-derived stem cells) in a variety of degenerative diseases

Stem Cell Therapeutics Corp., of Toronto, said it signed a definitive debenture purchase and merger agreement with Trillium Therapeutics Inc., also of Toronto, and its debenture holders, who also comprise the preferred shareholders...The two firms previously inked a letter of agreement, calling for a merger, which will add Trillium's cancer stem cell therapy to SCT's portfolio

Fibrocell Science Inc., of Exton, Pa., said its research collaboration with the University of California, Los Angeles, resulted in a discovery that may lead to a more predictable commercially viable method of producing stable induced pluripotent stem cells from adult skin cells...The study has been accepted for publication in Stem Cell Research and Therapy

International Stem Cell Corp., of Carlsbad, Calif., reported positive data from a study of safety and efficacy of human parthenogenic stem cells in a primate model of Parkinson's disease at the American Academy of Neurology meeting in San Diego

Sistemic Ltd., of Glasgow, UK, inked a deal with Progenitor Cell Therapy (PCT), a subsidiary of NeoStem Inc., of New York, to initiate evaluation studies on Sistemic's SistemQC stem cell characterization technology...The studies are designed to allow PCT to evaluate the applicability of SistemQC technology in stem cell characterization employing Sistemic's miRNA profiling system and analytical approaches to product miRNA panels