StemCyte Awarded $488,950 for Advanced Therapeutic Applications of Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cells from the Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project (QTDP)

COVINA, Calif., Nov. 11, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- StemCyte, Inc., one of the world's preeminent umbilical cord blood (UCB) banks and biotherapy companies, is proud to announce that the Company has been awarded two cash grants totaling $488,950 under the U.S. Internal Revenue Service's Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project (QTDP) program designed to support biomedical research by firms with fewer than 250 employees.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA) created the QTDP program as a means to support qualified research and development projects that show significant potential to produce new and cost-saving therapies, support job growth and increase U.S. competitiveness.  Following a competitive application process, StemCyte was awarded two grants for advance therapies using UCB stem cells for the potential treatment of chronic spinal cord injury and chronic stroke.

"We are very pleased to have been awarded these grants and believe it reflects positively on the Advanced Therapeutic applications of cord blood stem cells that we continue to pursue," said Ken Giacin, StemCyte, Inc's Chairman and CEO.  "These awards reaffirm our belief that our UCB-related research has great potential for saving and improving lives."

The Internal Revenue Service issued the QTDP awards and will administer the program.  The QTDP program is designed to provide grants and tax credits to qualified biotechnology companies with fewer than 250 employees that demonstrate the potential to develop new therapies to treat chronic condition, address unmet medical needs, reduce health care costs, and advance the goal of curing cancer within 30 years.

About StemCyte, Inc.

Located in the US, India and Taiwan, StemCyte has established one of the largest, most racially diverse, and highest quality cord blood stem cell banks in the world.  StemCyte has supplied over 1,300 cord blood products for over 40 life-threatening diseases to over 200 leading worldwide transplant centers.  StemCyte is actively involved in the development of new umbilical cord blood-based cell therapies.  They are supporting the largest clinical study for using unrelated cord blood transplantation for thalassemia, one of the most common genetic diseases in the world, as well as supporting trials investigating regenerative spinal cord therapies.  They are the only for-profit company contracted by the US Department of HHS to establish a public National Cord Blood Inventory for unrelated transplant units.  Its headquarters are located in Covina, Ca. and Ewing, NJ.  To learn more visit www.StemCyte.com.

SOURCE StemCyte, Inc.