StemCells Inc. ( STEM ) announced that it has commenced a phase II proof-of-concept study, Pathway, which will use the company's proprietary human neural system stem cells (HuCNS-SC) platform for treating patients suffering from cervical spinal cord injury (SCI). The company's phase II trial is titled "Study of Human Central Nervous System (CNS) Stem Cell Transplantation in Cervical Spinal Cord Injury."

The randomized, controlled, single-blind study will evaluate the safety and efficacy of transplanting HuCNS-SC cells into patients with traumatic injury in the cervical region of the spinal cord. The study will evaluate patients for a period of 12 months post-enrollment.

We remind investors that earlier in the year, the company had reported encouraging interim results from a phase I/II thoracic SCI study. StemCells intends to present final data from the phase I/II study in mid-2015.

According to the press release issued by StemCells, nearly 1.3 million people in the U.S. have reported paralysis due to an SCI and about 56% of spinal cord injuries occur in the cervical region. Upon approval, the new treatment will provide significant benefits to patients suffering from cervical SCI considering the present lack of effective treatments.

Meanwhile, StemCells is currently evaluating HuCNS-SC cells for several other indications including dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), Pelizeaus-Merzbacher disease (PMD) and Alzheimer's disease.

We expect investor focus to remain on pipeline updates.

StemCells currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the health care sector include Emergent BioSolutions, Inc. ( EBS ), Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. ( LGND ) and Medivation, Inc. ( MDVN ). All three carry a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

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StemCells Starts Phase II Cervical Spinal Cord Injury Study - Analyst Blog