State grows as hotbed for stem cell research; Third company announces formation
BYLINE: KATHLEEN GALLAGHER, Staff, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
A former top executive at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's patenting arm and a high-profile university researcher are forming the state's third embryonic stem cell company.
Stemina Biomarker Discovery will leverage research done by Gabriela Cezar, a stem cell scientist lured to the university in August 2005 from her job as stem cell lab manager at Pfizer Inc. by the prospect of working with human embryonic stem cells. At Pfizer, she was restricted to mouse embryonic stem cells.
Stemina has told potential investors that it will have a formal business plan for their review by Jan. 1, said Beth Donley, its chief executive officer.
The company had not intended to announce its formation until January, but did so Monday at an event at the governor's mansion because there were so many angel investors, venture capitalists and other potential investors attending, Donley said.
Fifteen potential investors have already approached Stemina, she said.
Donley was previously general counsel for the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and executive director of WiCell Research Institute, a foundation subsidiary set up to do embryonic stem cell research, train scientists to work with embryonic stem cells and distribute stem cell lines. WiCell has a grant from the National Institutes of Health to run the National Stem Cell Bank.
Stemina is the first stem cell company in the state not affiliated with James Thomson, the UW-Madison scientist who first isolated human embryonic stem cells in 1998 and paved the way for the foundation to obtain potentially lucrative, basic patents in the area.
Embryonic stem cell research is in the early stages of commercialization, and Madison is one of the world's hot spots for it, said Tom Still, president of the Wisconsin Technology Council.
Stemina's formation follows from the great depth in embryonic stem cell research at UW-Madison, and it is a sign of more to come, said John Neis, senior partner at Madison-based Venture Investors Management LLC.
"This is the leading stem cell research center in the world," Neis said. "I don't care what California tries to do in terms of throwing money at it, we still have the talent, knowledge and bigger amount of people focused on it than any institution in the world, so it's not surprising people are looking for ways to transform that into commercial opportunities."
Californians in late 2005 voted to fund $3 billion of embryonic stem cell research in their state over the next 10 years.
Many scientists believe that embryonic stem cells hold great potential for curing diseases such as diabetes and Alzheimer's because virtually all organs, cells and other body tissues arise from them.
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