ThermoGenesis to Begin Sale of Novel Stem Cell Device in India

ThermoGenesis Corp said its device, used in processing stem cells from bone marrow, got Indian marketing approval, sending its shares up as much as 8 percent. A leading supplier of innovative products and services that process and store adult stem cells, the company said that its Res-Q 60 BMC System (Res-Q) has been registered by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization of India (CDSCO), allowing its commercial sale in the country. Res-Q is a point of care system used for the preparation of cell concentrates, including stem cells from bone marrow aspirate.

The Rancho Cordova, California-based company provides technology to hospitals and blood banks that help in stem cell separation, cryopreservation, blood component thawing and freezing. The company, which will launch Res-Q in India with its South Asian partner TotipotentSC, expects to record initial revenues from the launch during the current quarter.

According to the MK Alliance Chairman, Kenneth L. Harris, “New stem cell technologies, such as Res-Q, are being adopted at a gradual but growing rate in India – a macro market which enjoyed double digit growth despite a challenging economic environment. We believe in cellular medicine and that this device can have an important impact on the clinical cell therapy platform we make available to the medical community.”

Other products developed by ThermoGenesis that enable the manufacture, preservation and delivery of cell and tissue therapy products include:

• The BioArchive System, an automated cryogenic device, used by cord blood stem cell banks in more than 30 countries for cryopreserving and archiving cord blood stem cell units for transplant.
• AXP AutoXpress Platform (AXP), a proprietary family of automated devices that includes the AXP and the MXP MarrowXpress and companion sterile blood processing disposables for harvesting stem cells in closed systems. The AXP device is used for the processing of cord blood. The MXP is used for the preparation of cell concentrates, including stem cells, from bone marrow aspirates in the laboratory setting.
• The CryoSeal FS System, an automated device and companion sterile blood processing disposable, used to prepare fibrin sealants from plasma in about an hour. The CryoSeal FS System is approved in the U.S. for liver resection surgeries. The CryoSeal FS System has received the CE-Mark which allows sales of the product throughout the European community.