HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Emerging Healthcare Solutions Inc. (PinkSheets:EHSI) was energized this week by news that the NASA-developed rotating-wall bioreactor, key to the company’s stem cell research plans, will be inducted into the Space Technology Hall of Fame next month.
An astonishing biotechnology breakthrough, EHSI’s rotating-wall bioreactor was initially developed by NASA scientists following the grounding of the agency’s space shuttle fleet in the aftermath of the Challenger disaster in 1986. For decades, medical researchers had taken advantage of the unique aspects of microgravity in space to grow three-dimensional cell cultures. These 3-D cells look and function much more closely to those grown within the human body. By contrast, cell cultures grown on Earth, including stem cells are only two-dimensional because gravity causes the cells to sink within their growth medium. With their access to space cut off, NASA scientists developed the rotating-wall bioreactor to grow human cells in simulated weightlessness.
The high-tech device works by using a rotating chamber to rapidly cultivate three-dimensional tissues that closely approximate those in the human body. On Earth, this technology provides a fast, affordable source of cells for therapy and research. In 2002, Regenetech, Inc., focused on modifications to the bioreactor to produce its own Intrifuge System so it could produce expanded cell tissues for specific research.
EHSI acquired a sub-license to use the bioreactor from Regenetech last December.
“It comes as no surprise to us that the NASA bioreactor has been chosen for the Space Technology Hall of Fame because we’ve seen what it can do,” said EHSI President and CEO Cindy Morrissey. “It’s essential to our efforts to develop the Rutherford Procedure, a new stem-cell treatment for liver disease. We’re also very excited about the many inquiries we’re receiving from scientists around the globe interested in using the bioreactor for other cellular research.”
The Space Technology Hall of Fame was created in 1988 by the Space Foundation, in cooperation with NASA, to increase public awareness of the benefits resulting from space exploration programs and to encourage further innovation. The bioreactor will be inducted at the 27thannual Space Foundation National Space Symposium, an event organized to bring together all sectors of space to highlight accomplishments and address opportunities and issues facing the global space community today.
“There are hundreds of examples of space technology that have been adapted to save lives by preventing or curing diseases," said Space Foundation Director - Space Awareness Kevin Cook. "The (rotating-wall bioreactor) technology is extraordinary because it has wide applications and because it is made available where research would not or could not be done."
EHSI invests in technology developed to compete in the stem-cell research industry alongside Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NASDAQ:TEVA), Allergan, Inc. (NYSE:AGN), Smith & Nephew (NYSE:SNN) and Forest Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:FRX).
About Emerging Healthcare Solutions, Inc.
Emerging Healthcare Solutions, Inc. invests in and participates in the profits of emerging breakthrough medical technologies. The Company believes the secret of leveraging future value for its shareholders is the proper timing of its investment in promising new medical technologies. EHSI aims to capture future profits of promising new medical technologies by investing in these technologies at the inflection point of product development. We believe this model will deliver long-term positive results for our investors.
For more information, please visit http://www.EmergingHealthcareSolutionsInc.com.
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