Applied Immune Sciences Inc. said Tuesday that it will workwith the New York Blood Center in a collaboration that couldlead to establishment of a stem cell bank, which may become asource of supply for bone marrow transplants.

AIS of Menlo Park, Calif., and the NYBC agreed to a three-yearagreement to research the selection and purification of stemcells drawn from blood left in umbilical cords, which are nowdiscarded after birth. Blood from umbilical cords is rich in stemcells, the undifferentiated progenitor cells to all cells of theblood and the immune system.

"If stem cells can be retrieved from cord blood and stored longterm, a stem cell bank could be established from which bonemarrow transplantation patients could gain immediate accessto donated cells," according to AIS.

Matches between bone marrow cell donors and recipients arenow performed through a computerized bone marrow registry,a process that now takes an average of more than five months,said John W. Adamson, NYBC's president. Arrangements togather and ship the donated cells adds to the wait.

In theory, a stem cell bank would be able to ship from itsinventory as soon as a match is made. AIS is to supply itsexpertise and devices for isolating specific immune system cellsfrom blood and bone marrow, while NYBC conducts researchand preclinical work.

AIS stock (NASDAQ:AISX) gained 75 cents a share Tuesday,closing at $16.

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