Advanced Cell Technology Inc., a prominent and sometimes controversial firm involved in embryonic stem cell research, has opened a 15,000-square-foot research and development facility at Harbor Bay Business Park in Alameda.
The company, which will retain its research operations in Worcester, Mass., said it is opening in Alameda to gain access to money from Proposition 71, the voter approved initiative that will dole out $3 billion in grants for stem cell research.
Advanced Cell subleased the space from Avigen Inc., which sold its gene therapy business in December. The sublease will cost Advanced Cell $26,000 to $29,000 in base rent per month and runs through May 2008, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
As part of the sublease deal, Advanced Cell acquired cell culture and manufacturing equipment that has been validated by regulators as GMP, or good manufacturing practice, for manufacturing cell-based therapies.
Advanced Cell most recently has concentrated its research on stem cell therapies for age-related eye diseases, cardiac and blood disorders and skin treatments for burns and wounds. The Alameda laboratory will allow it to manufacture clinical-grade product based on human embryonic stem cell technology.
CEO William Caldwell IV said in a statement that the opening of the Alameda facility marks a “significant milestone” toward preclinical and clinical testing and the eventual commercialization of therapies using embryonic stem cell technology.
Advanced Cell has been beefing up its California team since Proposition 71 passed. CEO Caldwell and Chairman and Chief Scientific Officer Michael West are both in the Bay Area. In June, Advanced Cell hired two associate directors with extensive scientific research experience. Both will be based in California. David Larocca, previously was director of research at Selective Genetics Inc., and James Murai was an executive at Immunetech Inc.
The company went public in a reverse merger in January 2005. It has said that it plans to apply for a Nasdaq SmallCap listing or attempt to trade on the American Stock Exchange. The company’s stock currently trades on the Over the Counter Bulletin Board under the symbol ACTC.
In presentations to investors late last year, Advanced Cell said it had about $16 million in cash, enough to fund it through 2007. It could also access about $9 million through the sale of convertible notes, the company said.
The company’s previous work in cloning animals has stirred controversy and attracted widespread media attention.
East Bay Business Times
Susan L. Thomas
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