StemCells, Inc. Further Expands SC Proven(R) Product Portfolio With New Line Of Purified Whole Cell Lysate Reagents

PALO ALTO, Calif., March 22, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- StemCells, Inc. (Nasdaq:STEM) announced today the launch of nine new products and three related kits to facilitate stem cell research. The Company's new line of purified nucleic acid and protein stem cell lysate products will enable stem cell researchers to more accurately test and validate stem cell lines and associated genes and gene products. These new reagents are serum-free and are produced by purification of the DNA, RNA or protein content of the lysates of homogenous mouse stem cell lines. Prior to the launch of these reagents, researchers have had to rely on crude lysates created from mixed cell populations, which often contain contaminants such as animal-serum components and other factors that can significantly impair the reliability of analytical performance.

"The launch of these unique cell lysate reagents brings to twenty, the total number of stem cell research products we have launched since January 2010, and demonstrates our ongoing commitment to grow our SC Proven ^® reagents business with innovative products that address the needs of a rapidly evolving field," said Stewart Craig, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Development and Operations at StemCells, Inc. "Our lysate products provide scientists with access to a reliable off-the-shelf benchmark against which they can perform their analyses, and are ideally suited to serve as the reference points necessary for researchers to verify "stemness" as well as to determine if they are looking at a cell, a gene or the gene product of a true, homogenous stem cell state, or of a more mature differentiated state."

The Company's SC Proven stem cell lysate products are affinity-purified from cultures of a homogenous population derived from a single stem cell in the pluripotent naive or 'ground state' ^1-4 or from homogenous multipotent neural stem ^5-7 cell lines grown in defined, serum-free SC Proven cell culture media. These reagents have significant utility for intra-comparative studies, such as Epigenetic analyses, Southern, Western and Northern blots, PCR, RT-PCR, and microarrays.

The new STEMmES-D ^™, STEMmES-R ^™ and STEMmES-P ^™ products comprise genomic DNA (gDNA), RNA and protein purified from the total cell lysate of mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells.

The new STEMmENS-D ^™, STEMmENS-R ^™ and STEMmENS-P ^™ products comprise gDNA, RNA and protein purified from the total cell lysate of mouse ES cell-derived neural stem (NS) cells.

The new STEMmFNS-D ^™, STEMmFNS-R ^™ and STEMmFNS-P ^™ products comprise gDNA, RNA and protein purified from the total cell lysate of mouse fetal brain-derived NS cells.

In addition, convenient 'Triplet' kits containing vials of all three products (i.e. gDNA, RNA and Protein) from each cell type are available as STEMmES-Triplet ^™, STEMmENS-Triplet ^™ and STEMmFNS-Triplet ^™.

About SC Proven Products

The SC Proven product portfolio comprises a range of products for the detection, isolation, expansion, differentiation and characterization of a variety of different human and animal cell types. The entire SC Proven product catalog and online ordering can be found at www.scproven.com . 

References

1. Ying QL, et al., The ground state of embryonic stem cell self-renewal. Nature (2008) 453(7194):519-23
2. Buehr M, et al., Capture of Authentic Embryonic Stem Cells from Rat Blastocysts. Cell (2008) 135(7):1287-98
3. Li P, et al., Germline Competent Embryonic Stem Cells Derived from Rat Blastocysts. Cell (2008) 135(7):1299-310
4. Wray J, et al., The ground state of pluripotency. Biochem Soc Trans.(2010) 38(4):1027-32
5. Conti L, et al., Niche-Independent symmetrical self-renewal of a mammalian tissue stem cell. PLoS Biology (2005) 3(9):e283
6. Pollard SM, et al., Adherent Neural Stem (NS) cells from fetal and adult forebrain. Cerebral Cortex (2006) 16:112-120
7. Pollard SM, et al., Fibroblast growth factor induces a neural stem cell phenotype in foetal forebrain progenitors and during embryonic stem cell differentiation. Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience (2008) 38:393:403

About StemCells, Inc.

StemCells, Inc. is engaged in the research, development, and commercialization of cell-based therapeutics and tools for use in stem cell-based research and drug discovery. In its therapeutic product development programs, StemCells is targeting disorders of the central nervous system and the liver. StemCells' lead product candidate, HuCNS-SC ^® cells (purified human neural stem cells), is currently in clinical development for spinal cord injury and two fatal neurodegenerative disorders in children, and in preclinical development for retinal disorders such as age-related macular degeneration. StemCells also markets stem cell research products, including media and reagents, under the SC Proven ^® brand, and is developing stem cell-based assay platforms for use in pharmaceutical research, drug discovery and drug development. Further information about StemCells is available at www.stemcellsinc.com .

The StemCells, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=7014

Apart from statements of historical fact, the text of this press release constitutes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. securities laws, and is subject to the safe harbors created therein. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the ability of the Company's lysate reagents to more accurately test and validate stem cell lines and associated genes and gene products, and to enable superior performance to alternative lysate products; the prospect of continued growth of the Company's SC Proven reagents business; clinical development of the Company's HuCNS-SC cells; the prospects for the Company to pursue non-therapeutic applications of its cell-based technologies; and the future business operations of the Company. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this news release. The Company does not undertake to update any of these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date hereof. Such statements reflect management's current views and are based on certain assumptions that may or may not ultimately prove valid. The Company's actual results may vary materially from those contemplated in such forward-looking statements due to risks and uncertainties to which the Company is subject, including those described under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010, and in its subsequent reports on Form 8-K.

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