PRESS RELEASE
The President of the Karolinska Institute, Dr. Harriet Wallberg-Henriksson Joins the Scientific and Medical Advisory Board of Cellastra, a California Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Company
August 12, 2008-San Francisco, California- Cellastra Inc., a pioneering stem cell engineering and therapeutics company, today announced the appointment of Harriet Wallberg-Henriksson, MD, PhD, President of the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden to its Scientific and Medical Advisory Board.
Dr. Henriksson’s inclusion in Cellastra’s advisory board is part of Cellastra’s strategy to work with scientific and medical leaders around the world to help expand clinical applications of pluripotent, especially embryonic stem cells.
Professor Harriet Wallberg-Henriksson has been President of Karolinska Institutet since 2004. She is a member of Karolinska Institutet´s Nobel Assembly, which selects the winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine every year. Harriet Wallberg-Henriksson was appointed President after over 25 years at Karolinska Institutet, one of Europe’s largest and one of the highest ranking medical universities in the world.
Cellastra Inc. is an innovative stem cell company focused on developing the highest quality, xeno-free (i.e. containing no foreign contaminants), clinical grade and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) quality pluripotent stem cell lines and stem cell derived therapeutics. Cellastra’s technology is developed in collaboration with its co-founder Dr. Outi Hovatta, MD, PhD, Professor at the Karolinska Institutet and the Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge, Sweden. Dr. Hovatta is an internationally renowned stem cell expert with pioneering research on stem cell cultivation, stem cell engineering and therapeutics development.
The alliance with Dr. Wallberg-Henriksson further strengthens Cellastra’s plans for technological and scientific exchange and collaboration between Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and Cellastra in California. The California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has recently initiated a 10 year grant and loan program with more than USD 3 billion made available to support pluripotent/embryonic stem cell research in institutions and companies located in California . “We are extremely honored and excited to strengthen the bridges between Sweden and California at this unique time by appointing Dr. Wallberg-Henriksson to Cellastra’s Advisory board,” said Dr. Neerja Sethi, CEO and co-founder of Cellastra Inc.
Dr Sethi added that “Cellastra takes pride in developing the highest quality pluripotent and embryonic stem cell lines and related technologies to help catapult the field of stem cell research into the era of biomedical and clinical applications.”
About Cellastra
CELLASTRA Inc. is a Stem Cell Therapeutics and Pharmacogenomics company that aims to develop, patent and commercialize innovative, cutting-edge technologies for developing human pluripotent/embryonic stem cells based therapeutics and research tools. CELLASTRA’s technology platform has clinical and market potential for multiple diseases with unmet needs. These include diabetes, spinal cord injuries, Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, cardiovascular ailments, liver ailments, organ replacements, cancer, blood disorders and other applications of tissue regeneration. CELLASTRA is currently in a unique leadership position in stem cell engineering field in having access to the highest clinical quality, xeno-free (free of animal additions and contaminations), pharmaceutical level, Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) grade, human embryonic/pluripotent stem cell lines and the related technologies. Cellastra is headquartered in San Francisco, California. Visit www.cellastra.com
Contact: Neerja Sethi, PhD
neerja.sethi@cellastra.com
