CIRM awards $151M in stem cell grants

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine approved $151 million in awards for eight stem cell therapy projects, including one from StemCells Inc. (NASDAQ:STEM) evaluating its HuCNS-SC purified human neural stem cells to treat cervical spinal cord injury. The company, which could receive up to $20 million over four years, is expected to submit an IND to begin clinical trials within that time frame. The cells are already in Phase I/II testing to treat thoracic spinal cord injury and dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and are in Phase I testing to treat Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease (PMD). StemCells was up $0.10 to $1.88 on Friday. ...