Showing posts with label cesca. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cesca. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Chinese Cloning Firm Pumps $15 Million into California Stem Cell Business

A Chinese firm that says it has the technology to clone human beings has invested $15 million in a stem cell company in Northern California.

The American firm is Cesca Therapeutics of Rancho Cordova, a suburb of Sacramento. The Chinese enterprise is BoyaLife Group, which has plans to clone one million cattle a year by 2020. In December, Rebecca Davis of Agence France-Press interviewed Xu Xiaochun, CEO of BoyaLife, and wrote:
“The Chinese scientist behind the world's biggest cloning factory has technology advanced enough to replicate humans, he told AFP, and is only holding off for fear of the public reaction.”
BoyaLife has a South Korean partner, Sooam, which was founded by Hwang Woo-Suk, the researcher who generated a global scandal in 2005 by falsly claiming to have cloned a human embryo. Sooam is involved currently in cloning pet dogs at $100,000 a pop, according to AFP.

Last year, Cesca lost a bid for $11 million from the California stem cell agency. The president of the firm, Robin C. Stracey, told this writer at the time that it expected to partner with another enterprise rather than try again for California stem cell agency funding.

The company’s application to the state research agency sought funds for a phase three clinical trial for a process to treat critical limb ischemia, which can lead to the loss of limbs.

Dale Kasler of The Sacramento Bee reported today that financially strapped Cesca could be taken over by BoyaLife. He reported that the company said this week that BoyaLife intended “to become a majority shareholder” in Cesca.

Kasler wrote,
“However, a change in control isn’t imminent, and Cesca officials said they welcome BoyaLife’s investment as a vote of confidence in their company.”
The New York Times reported last November that BoyaLife is planning the world’s largest animal cloning center in China this year. It quoted Xu as saying,
“And I can tell you all that cloned beef is the tastiest beef I have ever had.”
It was not clear, as of this writing, what role, if any, Cesca would have in cloning animals.

Sunday, November 22, 2015

Inside the Story of Cesca Therapeutics, the California Stem Cell Agency and its Kibosh of an $11 Million Proposal

The Sacramento Bee today carried a story taking a longer look at Cesca Therapeutics, Inc., its travails with the California stem agency and the firm’s application for $11 million to help finance a phase three clinical trial.

The freelance article was written by the publisher of this blog, David Jensen. Here is the full text of the story.

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Cesca Stock Plunges 50 Percent in Wake of California Stem Cell Agency News

The stock price of Cesca Therapeutics yesterday plummeted about 50 percent after it reported bad news about its application for $10 million from the California stem cell agency.

The stock closed at 30 cents a share in relatively heavy trading, compared to its close of 59 cents the previous day. Over the last 52 weeks, the stock has ranged from 29 cents to $1.24.

On Monday, the company, which is based in the Sacramento suburb of Rancho Cordova, announced that it had withdrawn its application from the $3 billion state-funded agency until it assessed critical reviewer comments. Cesca’s proposal involves a roughly $20 million, phase three clinical trial to test a product aimed at critical limb ischemia.

The firm had raised financing for the trial that was contingent on CIRM approval of a grant.  

In its Monday press release, company president Robin Stracey said,

“We expect to spend the next several weeks re-validating and/or amending select elements of our plan, with a particular focus on the anticipated rate of patient enrollment, the overall timetable and the design of the statistical plan. Having said that, we remain very excited by the prospects for our program.”

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