The Ellis Martin Report: Interview with International Stem Cell Corporation's Founder/Co-Chairman

TEMR: Welcome to The Ellis Martin Report.  I’m Bob Lange.  We’re talking with Kenneth Aldrich, Executive Chairman of International Stem Cell Corporation, trading on the OTC Market with the symbol ISCO.   International Stem Cell Corporation has been one of the most exciting companies trading in the biotech sector with respect to non-embryonic stem cell development.  They have a proprietary process and commercial products that give them a tremendous edge in the marketplace. Ken welcome back to the show. I understand there’s a lot going on at International Stem Cell Corporation.  Can you give us at least a portion of it?
Ken Aldrich: I certainly can Bob.  Let me start with the most recent developments in our skincare subsidiary because I know that’s something lots of people are interested in.  We have over the past 6-months completely remodeled both the marketing model and the structure of our skincare subsidiary. Originally we were marketing solely through internet based and through direct response marketing. And, that was very successful back in December particularly because it was the Christmas season. In fact we sold, I think, something over a million dollar worth of product in one marketing push. However, we realized that as we go forward it’s much more important for us to build a broader base of users of the skincare product and multiple distribution channels. Frankly the response from that has been actually quite gratifying. It was a very, very responsive audience considering where we went and that’s part of the plan. We have also been simultaneously beginning to build a marketing program that will go out to spas and resorts and most of those are parts of chains so that with relatively little marketing effort we can reach a very large base of potential customers.  The third thing that we’re doing is we’re in the process of setting up an international distribution network. And, we have also increased our supply of product so that we don’t run into the same problem we had last December where we sold more product then we had in inventory and had to really scramble. So, we’ve completely reengineered the skincare program.  I think you’ll find it in the future much more stable, growing steadily and hopefully a very exciting source of revenue for the company. So, we’re very, very pleased with that.

TEMR: So now you have a broader base in the consumer revenue stream but, what about business to business sales?

Ken Aldrich: We’ve been doing significant expansion.  Again, in the revenue generating side of our business is with Lifeline Cell Technology where we have now opened up distributorship throughout several countries in Asia and are beginning now to see the results from those various distributorships. And, that has great promise for us to take what has been a $2 or $3 million dollar a year business and expand that quite significant. What happens is a researcher begins with a small amount of our media or our cells, does some experiments in the laboratory and if they work properly then he buys or she buys more and gradually expands. And, if things go really well they end up in clinical trials and ultimately all the way in the community of those who are actually receiving treatment using whatever process has been developed. So, at each step of the process people are using more and more of the media and more and more of the cells that we provide for research.

TEMR: Since we have just a few minutes left could you touch on the therapeutic side of International Stem Cell Corporation?

Ken Aldrich: I’ll certainly do my best.  In therapeutics we just had some announcements or an announcement that I think is potentially very significant and that is that we are now in animal trials with a class of neurons that we have developed using our parthenogenetic stem cells, proprietary to us and no one else in the world can use them without a license from us, to develop a new class of neurons that we think has great promise for treating Parkinson’s disease and possibly other diseases. But, our initial focus is in the Parkinson’s area. And, we have started the first animal studies on those neurons.  We think that we have a very good shot at a very successful product. Now, like all of our therapeutic products, this is not tomorrow’s news.  These will be ongoing through animal trials and ultimately human trials. We’re working, frankly, in the near-term with the revenue today.  We’re working in the intermediate term with the rapidly growing revenue through our business to business products. And, we’re working in the long-term toward the ultimate goal of billion dollar products actually treating human diseases. So, we’re excited and we think it’s a continuum towards ultimate success.  Eventually what we hope is that when people think of International Stem Cell Corporation they will think of us as the cells that are used inside almost every therapy that’s known to man that uses stem cells.  And, we’re putting in place right now the building blocks to get there.

TEMR: We’ve been speaking with Ken Aldrich, Executive Chairman of International Stem Cell Corporation trading on the OTC Market under the symbol ISCO.  Ken thank you for taking the time to speak with us today.

Ken Aldrich: You’re most welcome. I was happy to do so.

TEMR: Remember you’re urged to consider closely the disclosure in the company’s latest reports and registration statements filed with the FCC before investing. You can find the link to more information on International Stem Cell Corporation at ellismartinreport.com.  For The Ellis Martin Report, I’m Bob Lange.
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The Ellis Martin Report: Interview with Ken Aldrich of International Stem Cell Corp.

Ken Aldrich of International Stem Cell Corp (ISCO.OB) on the Present and Future of Stem Cell Research and Applications
The Ellis Martin Report: International Stem Cell Corporation trades under the symbol ISCO.OB on the Over the Counter Bulletin Board and is based in Carlsbad, California where I have the pleasure of interviewing Executive Chairman, Kenneth Aldrich. International Stem Cell has developed a process to derive stem cells similar to Embryonic Stem Cells without the need for fertilized embryos and with minimal exposure to non-human cells. These factors provide ISCO a unique leadership role in the field of regenerative cell therapy. Additionally, Lifeline Cell Technology, a wholly-owned subsidiary of International Stem Cell Corporation (ISCO), develops, manufactures and markets high-quality human primary cells, stem cells, media and reagents for sale to pharmaceutical, academic and government scientists. The company’s management pioneered the development of the normal human cell culture market through the creation of Clonetics® Corporation in the 1980s and has over 20 years combined experience in research, development, manufacturing, quality control, marketing and sales of human cell culture products. Lifeline’s products are distributed in the United States and Europe. Ken Aldrich, welcome to the program.
For the complete text version of this broadcast: http://www.ellismartinreport.com/node/148

The Difference Between Adult Stem Cells and Embryonic Stem Cells

This is Ken Aldrich.  I am Chairman of International Stem Cell Corporation and thought I’d talk for just a minute, or maybe a couple of minutes, about the different kinds of stem cells.  People are always asking, “What’s the difference between an adult stem cell and an embryonic stem cell?”   Let me try to make this as simple as possible.  Adult stem cells are those that are derived from the human body any time after the first, probably, week or two of development of the fetus in the womb. So, cells that come from cord blood, or cells that come from embryonic tissue as well as cells that come from an adult human being are all categorized as adult cells and as a result they can become certain types of cells in the body and can be changed into certain other kinds, but not all kinds.  That limits the range of diseases that you can possibly treat with adult cells; leukemia, for example, in some cases very well, you can’t treat diabetes and so on. 
The second broad category is what’s called pluripotent stem cells.  These are cells that can be converted into any cell in the body.  The best known example of pluripotent stem cells are embryonic stem cells which we have all heard about in the news.  These are created from a fertilized human egg and have all of the ethical issues that people debate about, but also have the ability to become any cell in the human body. 
The next category, that you haven’t heard as much about are what are called Induced Pluripotent Cells of IPS cells.  These are derived from adult tissue, but then that tissue is reprogrammed back to its primal state and you get a true pluripotent stem cell as if it were an embryonic cell.  The problem with these is that in order to get back to that state, you have to introduce what are called vectors which often are cancer causing agents and you are also involving genetic manipulation, so there is a big question as to whether the FDA will ever approve those kinds of cells for therapy.  What they are wonderful for, however, is research.  Scientists, for example, can reprogram cells from a patient who has Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s and perhaps be able to study the development of that disease and find out exactly what goes wrong and when.  So they are very useful.
The third category is parthenogenetic stem cells.  These happen to be the ones created by our company, International Stem Cell Corporation.  We think they are the best so I will acknowledge a little bit of bias right here.  These are cells that have all the characteristics of embryonic stem cells, but they are created without using a fertilized human egg.  That has two huge advantages; one, obviously, is we take the ethical issue off of the table, the second advantage is however the genetic makeup is much simpler.  There is no sperm from the father to add to the genetic complexity.  As a result of this, we can take a single cell line, match it to the immune response system of literally hundreds of millions of people.  That leads to what we hope will be the final solution for creating a true human cell bank that anyone can tap into and get cells that match their own needs, on demand, when they need them.  Think of it like a blood bank, if you will, except that these are human cells and they are more complicated. 
That’s a quick overview.  If you are curious about more please go to our website at www.Internationalstemcell.com and if you browse around there a bit you’ll find quite a bit more to learn about stem cells and in particular about our parthenogenic stem cells. 
 
Thanks for listening.