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Jerusalem, Israel, May 19, 2009 --- Gamida Cell announced that the President of Israel, His Excellency Shimon Peres visited the company today for a briefing and a tour of the R&D facility. The purpose of the visit was for the president to learn more about the stem cell industry, which he recognizes to be important. Great strides have already been made in this growing industry, with several new products expected to reach the market in the next two years. Israel and Gamida Cell are at the forefront of this progress.
President Peres said, “Your company is not only a leader in cell therapy in Israel, but also worldwide. My visit today was intriguing; the work done at Gamida Cell shows that Israel has the greatest minds and scientists. I am proud that a company like yours represents our best and brightest.”
The visit included:
Israel has the second largest number of scientific publications in the stem cell field; the United States ranks first. Israel is also home to more than 70 academic groups engaged in stem cell research and nearly 20 companies developing stem cell therapy related products. (Office of the Chief Scientist of Israel). There are around 300 stem cell companies worldwide, and it is estimated that the market will reach $178M in 2009, $700M in 2010, and $8.5B in 2016 (Robin R. Young, 2008).
“Gamida Cell is a prime example of Israel’s leadership in stem cell research. The Gamida Cell-Teva Joint Venture is currently conducting the last stage of its clinical testing of StemEx®, a therapy for patients with blood cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma who need a bone marrow transplantation. This is the largest multi-center cord blood transplant study for adults run by a company in the world,” said Dr. Schwartz.
“We were delighted to have the opportunity to host President Peres and to answer his questions. The Israeli government has always been supportive of the stem cell industry and of our work. Since the beginning, the Office of the Chief Scientist has awarded Gamida Cell a total of $12M in grants to develop our products, including StemEx, which we anticipate will enter the market in 2011,” said Dr. Margolin.
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