GOVERNOR HAILS STEMCYTE’S MOVE TO NEW JERSEY

California company to relocate executive management and therapeutics team to Ewing Township

Piscataway – Governor Jon S. Corzine today applauded the decision of Stemcyte, Inc., a global umbilical cord blood (UCB) stem cell and therapeutic products company, to locate its east coast corporate offices in Ewing Township, New Jersey.

“The decision by such a dynamic and pioneering stem cell company to locate corporate offices in New Jersey is testament to the attractive collaborative research environment that exists here for innovative life science companies,” said Governor Corzine. “StemCyte’s focus on stem cell research and the therapies that can be derived from it will augment the trailblazing efforts already underway in New Jersey.

“The addition of Stemcyte to our portfolio of companies represents an important economic investment that brings with it the promise of discovery and cures for some of our most devastating diseases and injuries. I am proud to welcome Stemcyte to the Garden State.”

StemCyte’s new office in Ewing Township will house the company’s executive management and therapeutics team and will establish a base of operations for the company’s new northeast United States therapeutics program. The firm’s management includes experts in cord blood banking, transfusion medicine, transplantation medicine, compliance and quality management, hematology, laboratory medicine, tissue typing, and microbiology

State officials worked with the company on site location and selection as well as overall project coordination services. Stemcyte was also approved for a Business Employment Incentive Program (BEIP) grant. In addition, the company has cited proximity to Rutgers University as one of its considerations in moving to New Jersey. Rutgers and Stemcyte have been collaborating on the development of a spinal cord injury therapy.

“New Jersey’s collaborative research environment, their commitment to stem cell therapeutics and their reputation as a leader in the life science industry were important elements in our decision to move to the state,” said Kenneth J. Giacin, chairman and chief executive officer of StemCyte. “We have been working with Dr. Wise Young at Rutgers to develop therapies derived from umbilical cord blood stem cells for several years. Now we are very pleased to become a part of New Jersey’s life sciences community by establishing operations in Ewing.”

StemCyte has UCB storage facilities in both California and Taiwan that collect process and store UCB stem cells to be used as therapeutic treatments. In November 2006, the company received a federal contract to help build a national inventory of 150,000 cord blood units under the C.W. Bill Young Cell Transplantation Program. The awards were the first such disbursement of the $79 million authorized by Congress in the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act of 2005. StemCyte was selected as one of six cord blood banks in the country from a competitive proposal process.

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Photos from Governor Corzine's public events are available in the Governor's Newsroom section on the State of New Jersey web page.