Special stem cell work to come to U.S.

TORONTO, June 22 (UPI) -- Canada's Tissue Regeneration Therapeutics Inc. will exclusively license a type of stem cell technology to U.S. firm Stem Cell Authority Ltd.

The agreement, announced this week, will net TRT more than $20 million in licensing fees and annual minimum royalties over the next four years.

The new technique is called human umbilical cord perivascular cell (HUCPVC) technology, and is used to extract and bank mesenchymal cells from umbilical cords.

Unlike cord blood stem cells, which are blank slates and can develop into any tissue in the body, mesenchymal cells are more developed and are considered specific building blocks for muscle, bone and connective tissue. They also regulate the immune system, and lead inventor John Davis, of the University of Toronto's Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, said HUCPVCs could be used against autoimmune and inflammatory problems, such as Crohn's disease, juvenile diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis.

The TRT technique has been available to the Canadian public since March 2007 through CReAte Cord Blood Bank, which markets HUCPVCs as Peristem.

Jeffrey Turner, TRT's CEO, said the company will also expand into the Middle Eastern and Australian markets.