Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Edison Issues Initiation on International Stem Cell Corp. (ISCO), Focus on Parkinson’s Potential

In a May 16, 2016, press release, Edison Investment Research announced initiation of coverage on International Stem Cell Corp. (OTCQB: ISCO). Edison describes itself as an international equity research firm with over 110 analysts and professionals, working with both large and small companies, as well as investors, wealth managers, private equity and corporate finance houses.

Edison’s focus on International Stem Cell Corp. centers around ISCO’s unique parthenogenetic stem cell technology platform, and its anticipated superior therapeutic potential for addressing health problems, specifically Parkinson’s disease. Parthenogenetic stem cells (hpSC) are generated from unfertilized eggs, meaning no viable human embryo is created or destroyed. The resulting cells thus bypass ethical issues. At the same time, parthenogenetic stem cells express fewer parental histocompatibility antigens, thus offering important immuno-matching advantages and significantly reducing the risk of immune system rejection.

ISCO parthenogenetic stem cells are seen as offering important qualities for the treatment of liver and eye diseases, as well as diseases of the central nervous system such as Parkinson’s. Of primary interest are diseases where, according to ISCO: “cell therapy has been clinically proven, but treatment options are limited by the availability of safe human cells”.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) represents an especially important target market. The Edison report states that:

“As many as 2-3 million people suffer from PD in the US and EU, according to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation (PDF), and there are currently no approved treatments to slow or halt progression of the disease. If ISCO’s treatment proves effective at slowing or halting disease progression, we forecast potential peak sales of $2.8bn based on 2% of existing and 5% of newly diagnosed patients in the US and 1-2% of patients in the EU and RoW receiving treatment.”

The report also points out that ISCO has other commercial operations that leverage its hpSC technology, operations that provide revenue to support continued research into therapeutic applications. According to the report:

“Using a risk-adjusted NPV model, we value the company at $27m or $9.60 per basic share, using a 12.5% discount rate and a 7.5% probability of success for the PD candidate and a 10% discount rate and 90% probability for the skincare and biomedical businesses.”

To view the full Edison report, go to http://dtn.fm/wSz7R

For more information, visit www.internationalstemcell.com

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