The California-based conglomerate Healthcare of Today has announced its acquisition of the Houston-based biotech company Regenetech for $100 million. Among Regenetech’s several hundred patents and patent applications throughout the world are 13 patents licensed from NASA for the expansion of adult stem cells in the type of microgravity environment that exists throughout interstellar space.
According to the CEO of Healthcare of Today, Henry Jan, “Regenetech’s work is astounding. We are thrilled to bring a leader in adult stem cell technology into the family of Healthcare of Today companies. Our mission has always been to provide the highest levels of healthcare to our clients, and a company whose passion is to do this through biotechnology is a natural fit for us.”
Founded in May of 2008 and headquartered in Burbank, California, Healthcare of Today is a holding company, the primary focus of which is the acquisition and development of diverse types of corporations within the healthcare industry. The Regenetech acquisition is merely the latest in a series of acquisitions made by Healthcare of Today, which in recent weeks has also made other corporate purchases of similar size and significance. Through its various subsidiaries, Healthcare of Today owns a number of pharmaceutical, insurance, assisted living, senior communities, nurse staffing, real estate brokerage and biotechnology businesses.
Regenetech, which boasts at least one NASA astronaut among the members of its scientific advisory board, is a leader in the R&D of adult stem cells. In September of 2008, Regenetech entered into a technology and patent licensing agreement with Biogenea-Cellgenea of Greece for the development of adult stem cell therapies in the treatment of cardiovascular, hematological and neurological diseases including Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and spinal cord injuries.
According to their website, Regenetech “develops and offers intellectual property licenses in the area of adult stem cell expansion and therapeutic applications of adult stem cells. Regenetech uses a technology discovered by NASA in space experiments for growing three-dimensional (3D) stem cells in a weightless environment. Regenetech’s research results indicate that adult stem cells can be harvested from a filtered extraction of the patient’s own blood and grown to larger, therapeutic quantities eliminating the most critical problem in conventional adult stem cell therapies: availability of adult stem cells rapidly, safely, and at reasonable cost. This minimally invasive procedure reintroduces the patient’s own stem cells to provide red and white blood cells, platelets, and connective tissues. Regenetech has the exclusive rights to thirteen patents originally issued to NASA. The company has added to the original technology licensed from NASA through its own technology creation program and has to date filed applications for over 200 patents of its own with additional patent applications targeted.”