The World Economic Forum Technology Pioneers 2006: Theravitae Selected for Stem Cell Innovations

The World Economic Forum Technology Pioneers 2006: Theravitae Selected for Stem Cell Innovations

The World Economic Forum today announced 36 Technology Pioneers for 2006. TheraVitae, represented by its CEO, Dr. Valentin Fulga, MD, has been selected as one of these Technology Pioneers.

Geneva, Switzerland, Rehovot, Israel, Bangkok, Thailand December 5, 2005 - The World Economic Forum today announced 36 Technology Pioneers for 2006. TheraVitae, represented by its CEO, Dr. Valentin Fulga, MD, has been selected as one of these Technology Pioneers.

Technology Pioneers are companies that have been identified as developing and applying highly transformational and innovative technologies in the areas of energy, biotechnology and health, and information technology. This year's class of companies has been selected not only because of the cutting-edge work undertaken by the organizations, but also because their work has potential long-term impact on business and society.

TheraVitae’s novel technology produces therapeutic adult stem cell populations using a laboratory process that isolates, further expands and differentiates stem cells that were harvested from a small volume of the patient’s own blood. Therapies based on this technology exploit the body’s natural healing mechanisms by using the patient’s own cells to treat heart and other incurable diseases. The first commercial product based on this technology is VesCell™, which is being used to successfully treat severe cardiovascular disorders. VesCell consists of Angiogenic Cell Precursors, cells with the capacity to induce blood vessel and muscle tissue formation in the heart. VesCell is administered to patients via standard catheterization or endoscopic injection to regions of the heart suffering from reduced blood supply.

“Inclusion in this respectable list of Technology Pioneers is an honor for the dedicated and skilled staff at TheraVitae who I represent. Together we will do our utmost to remain at the cutting edge of new cell-based treatments and manufacturing processes. We will continue to implement our credo: ‘let the body cure itself’, offering real hope to patients suffering from many hitherto untreatable diseases,” commented Dr. Fulga.

TheraVitae is expanding its operations into the United States and Europe and is planning to initiate clinical trials early next year. In addition, a clinical trial to assess the efficacy of VesCell™ in the treatment of peripheral arterial disease is planned to be started soon. The Company is leveraging its broad platform technology to develop additional cellular treatments. This will open a remarkable new horizon for the company’s products bringing hundreds of millions of people suffering from degenerative disorders closer to a potential cure.

read more...