ISCO is an international stem cell corporation, biotechnology and research , California based company.
International Stem Cell Corporation (OTCBB: ISCO), www.internationalstemcell.com, and Insight Bioventures India Private Limited (IBVI), (www.insightbioventures.in) announced on july 20th 2010 that they have signed a letter of intent concerning funding and establishment of an Indian affiliate of ISCO (ISCO India). The goal is to establish world-class development and manufacturing operations for ISCO’s research and pharmaceutical products in India, including its Lifeline Cell Technology® research products and human corneal tissue, CytoCor™, for treatment of corneal vision impairment and testing of chemicals.
IBVI is an experienced biomedical business facilitator with a solid network among Indian corporations, academia and government. In collaboration with Sristi Biosciences (www.sristibio.com), a full-fledged developer, manufacturer and commercial operation and the therapeutic arm of Indian bio industry leader Sri Bio (www.sribio.com), IBVI facilitated the earliest submissions and approvals of the stem cell therapy guidelines of India.
Some of IBVI’s major collaborators include ophthalmology research center and hospital, Sankara Nethralaya (www.sankaranethralaya.org), The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (a federally funded institute run by the Indian government, www.ccmb.res.in), the All-India Institute for Medical Sciences (www.aiims.edu), and the Indian Council for Medical Research (www.icmr.nic.in). IBVI has established a dedicated Biofund to finance novel businesses in India.
According to Dr. Jayaraman Packirisamy, Executive Director of IBVI, “ISCO offers our investors as well as corporate and academic partners a unique combination of Lifeline marketed research products with near-term revenue potential in India, CytoCor with potential to change standard of care for the widespread corneal blindness and vision impairment in India and the rest of Asia, and an opportunity to apply our well-educated work force and industrial grade facilities to develop and manufacture these and other biomedical products cost-efficiently in India. We therefore look much forward to lead the funding and implementation of ISCO India.”
