NEW YORK, Sept. 5, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NeoStem, Inc. (NBS) ("NeoStem" or the "Company"), a cell therapy company, today announced that Company management of a NeoStem company, Progenitor Cell Therapy ("PCT"), an internationally recognized contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), has been invited to present on its core expertise in development of commercial manufacturing processes for cell therapy at two cell therapy conferences in September. At each, PCT will offer its unique perspective as an industry leader in contract development and manufacturing of cell therapy products, with over 12 years of exclusive cell-therapy focused experience.

Timothy Fong, Ph.D, M.B.A, PCT's Vice President, Technology and Product Development, will be sharing PCT's expertise in cell therapy manufacturing with a focus on commercialization. At IBC Life Sciences' Cell Therapy Bioprocessing Conference, he will chair a panel on quality assurance and controls and will give a presentation entitled "From Concept to Product: Considerations for Developing a Robust Commercial Manufacturing Process", which will include considerations for developing a robust commercial manufacturing process. He will also speak at the Stem Cells USA and Regenerative Medicine Congress on "Cell manufacturing considerations for first-in-world stem cell therapeutics".

Dr. Fong stated, "As a cell therapeutic progresses from concept to product, the development of a commercial manufacturing process may contain unexpected technical and quality issues. The development path should follow several defined steps. My presentations will discuss the key steps in the process and highlight critical areas that need to be addressed to develop a successful commercial manufacturing process. PCT helps clients bridge the gap between discovery and patient care through efficient transfer of cell-based therapies from laboratory into clinical practice."

NeoStem and PCT invite you to attend the conference(s), see Dr. Fong's talks, and connect with the PCT team at PCT's booths. If you are a colleague of PCT or NeoStem, PCT can offer you a registration discount. Please contact PCT at bdm@pctcelltherapy.com for more details.

IBC Life Sciences' 2nd Annual Cell Therapy Bioprocessing Conference

Terrapinn 4th Annual Stem Cells USA and Regenerative Medicine Congress

About NeoStem, Inc.

NeoStem, Inc. continues to develop and build on its core capabilities in cell therapy capitalizing on the paradigm shift that we see occurring in medicine. In particular, we anticipate that cell therapy will have a large role in the fight against chronic disease and in lessening the economic burden that these diseases pose to modern society. We are emerging as a technology and market leading company in this fast developing cell therapy market. Our multi-faceted business strategy combines a state-of-the-art contract development and manufacturing subsidiary, Progenitor Cell Therapy, LLC ("PCT") with a medically important cell therapy product development program, enabling near and long-term revenue growth opportunities. We believe this expertise and existing research capabilities and collaborations will enable us to achieve our mission of becoming a premier cell therapy company.

Our contract development and manufacturing service business supports the development of proprietary cell therapy products. NeoStem's most clinically advanced therapeutic, AMR-001, is being developed at Amorcyte, LLC ("Amorcyte"), which we acquired in October 2011. Amorcyte is developing a cell therapy for the treatment of cardiovascular disease and is enrolling patients in a Phase 2 trial to investigate AMR-001's efficacy in preserving heart function after a heart attack. Athelos Corporation ("Athelos"), which is approximately 80%-owned by our subsidiary, PCT, is collaborating with Becton-Dickinson in the early clinical exploration of a T-cell therapy for autoimmune conditions. In addition, pre-clinical assets include our VSELTM Technology platform as well as our mesenchymal stem cells product candidate for regenerative medicine. Our service business and pipeline of proprietary cell therapy products work in concert, giving us a competitive advantage that we believe is unique to the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Supported by an experienced scientific and business management team and a patent and patent pending (IP) portfolio, we believe we are well positioned to succeed.

For more information on NeoStem, please visit http://www.neostem.com. For more information on PCT, please visit http://www.pctcelltherapy.com.

Originally posted here:
Progenitor Cell Therapy, a NeoStem Company, Invited to Present at Two Conferences in September