Big Pharma steps up, page-25

On 27 Dec MF posted a link to a 40 page summary of Global Stem Cells market. It looks to me a bit like the work of a Uni graduate based in India but as a starting point it's not bad . Key players in the USA are listed along with Mesoblast. But many other names are omitted. interesting their markets caps versus Cyp's .
The most important thing to realize is that many of these players with success in advanced stage clinical trials are either relying on "1st generation " manufacturing methods and sourcing of donor cells from invasive procedures such as harvesting from bone marrow, or collecting human placenta, and I can't believe I actually read in that report from " discarded circumcisions" !!
To manufacture at scale in order to commercialize a product these " first generation" methods have logistics I ssues surrounding efficiency, purity, consistency, scaleability and therefore cost , and potentially regulatory roadblocks.
You could say that Cynata's Cymerus patent is the "Next generation" method that eliminates the potential multiple donor sourcing methods and the associated problems with cell expansion and commercial scale up, batch consistency etc etc...
Possibly the regulatory path may be an easier one because of this.

So yes there maybe a lot of completion out there, but let's compare apples with apples and oranges with oranges. Who else can produce unlimited cells from a single donor source?

Aside from Teva's major investment in Mesoblast, Pfizer's relatively small play in Athersys inc, and Bristol Myers Squibb's $175million purchase of iPierian , owner of an induced pluripotent stem cell platform along with other drugs targeting neurodegenerative diseases, it appears the major Pharma companies have been sitting back watching and waiting for obstacles to be cleared before getting involved. The fact that J&J has now stepped up with a potential $337 million investment signals game on for Big Pharma. Who will be next , who will miss out, and will they be interested in first generation or next generation stem cell manufacturing technology? Common sense should prevail here.

The fact that Cyp's chairman has openly stated 2015 to be the year of partnerships is a fantastic sign that others out there already want a part of this technology.
The next few months should reveal with whom.