The average person doesn’t understand stem cells. And with all the confusion provided by the mainstream media, it’s no wonder.
But with some recent events, the stem cell industry is beginning to show signs of maturity. Contrary to popular belief, the short term gains are not to be had in reversing the effects of spinal cord injury or treating neurological diseases. Instead, the immediate applications for stem cell technology lie in helping companies perform better research for traditional medicines.
For that reason, GE Healthcare has unveiled an exclusive alliance with Geron, a relative grey-haired veteran of the stem cell industry. Don’t be fooled…GE is not moving into the therapeutic market. Instead, they are adding Geron’s technology in order to commercialize stem cell-based testing products to help researchers around the world in their development of new drugs. GE already distributes instruments and consumables to labs all around the world. Leveraging those relationships provides an immediate channel for this new product line.
There are others chasing this market: iZumi, Cellular Dynamics, California Stems Cells and others. And while it’s still considered a niche, this could be the future of how drug developers save time, money and animals in evaluating the potential and safety of new drug candidates. And with one of the world’s largest companies now wholly committing to new stem cell technologies, the industry has taken yet another step toward maturity.
