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The recent acquisition of Pharmacells by Precious Cells Group (PCG) from London will see the creation of an additional 12 jobs at Newhouse Scotland where the company is based at BioCity Scotland. Pharmacells was the first company to take a tenancy in the highly successful life sciences hub in 2012. New jobs will also be created in West London, where PCG currently employ 25 staff based on the Brunel Science Park.

The acquisition was motivated by Pharmacells™ "Oristem®" (Patented) stem cell harvesting process, collection and storage service, invented in Scotland, which will let PCB accelerate its growth into initiating clinical trials. The group company estimates that this acquisition will boost revenues by up to £3m in the first year, £7m in the second year and over £15m in year three.

Pharmacells™ patented Oristem® technology enables stem cells to be collected from adult blood to allow an individual’s own cells to be used in treatment. It is the only such system to offer this disruptive stem cell isolation facility available anywhere in the world and is the most straightforward and pain free method of storing adult stem cells. As a result, treatment using stem cells is expected to be far more effective as it lowers the risk of a body rejecting the cells.

Athol Haas, CEO and co-founder of Pharmacells says: "Partnering with Precious Cells Group, one of the world's leading stem cell consumer technology platform service providers, with its depth of resource and international reach will considerably enhance our efforts to market the Oristem® technology in the UK and globally."

"We are proud to have been one of the pioneers of a method to collect hundreds of millions of ultra-naïve stem cells from adult blood which can significantly improve the effectiveness of stem cell therapies and will help slow the spiralling cost of treating some of the most common and expensive medical conditions."

"Our re-location to Biocity has proved to be giant leap forwards for our company. The access to top class facilities without the huge infrastructure spend has allowed us to emerge as a leading player in Scottish Life Sciences. It has also proved vital to PCG as the quality of our facility is a key advantage for their expansion plan as a brand separately to Pharmacells™. As the first tenant since the site opened, we’ve been very pleased with the service and attention paid to us by all at Biocity."

It is estimated that there is a one in five chance that individuals will use stem cells in their lifetime to treat a particular medical condition or for diagnostics. Due to recent technological advances, stem cell therapy is now under investigation to treat a much wider range of medical conditions where repair and regrowth of tissue is a critical factor. Diseases and medical conditions which have been shown to have early exciting preliminary benefits from stem cell therapy include diabetes, cancer, heart disease, eye disease, metabolic diseases, gastro intestinal, immune system spinal cord and neurological diseases.

The global market for stem cell products is expected to reach nearly £3.87 billion by 2016.

PCG moved into the Middle East in 2011 where Pharmacells™ co-founder, Dr Neil Fell practices family medicine at his base in Healthpoint Hospital, Abu Dhabi.

www.pharmacells.co.uk
www.biocity-scotland.co.uk