Pluristem Therapeutics Ltd. (Nasdaq:PSTI; DAX: PJT) has received a $1.6 million grant from the Office of the Chief Scientist, double the grant the company received last year. The grant will fund clinical trials and R&D of PLX cells.
The Chief Scientist grant came a week after the company raised $600,000 from an external investor, whose name has not been disclosed, and $150,000 from company officers.
Haifa-based Pluristem develops a pipeline of products that are derived from the human placenta, a non-embryonic adult stem cell source.
Pluristem president and CEO Zami Aberman said that the grant was a vote of confidence in the company and its potential to become a "dominant participant" in the cell therapy market. He added that the grant covers the development costs of the company's PLX cells between March 2008 and February 2009, and that the company plans to apply for a new grant in March 2009 to cover Phase I trial of PLX-PAD and pre-clinical studies of PLX-IBD for inflammatory bowel disease.
Aberman added that Pluristem has formed a multidisciplinary consortium with 13 companies and research centers in Germany, France, Switzerland, and Israel to support additional clinical trials, supported by $13 million in grant applications from EU Seventh Framework Progamme for Research and Development. The grant applications are part of the company's strategy to seek non-dilutive funding that will benefit shareholders.
Pluristem's share fell 2.4% on Friday to $0.40, giving a market cap of $3.7 million.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 14, 2008
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2008