A recent report conducted by the Millennium Research Group (MRG) has determined that the industry is set to explode. Their detailed analysis, US Markets for Stem Cell Therapies 2007, determined that as products are approved in the U.S., the market will grow rapidly despite its current state of infancy. By 2017, almost 90 products are expected to be available, despite the fact that only two are on the market today.
Stem cells have the potential to cure diseases that are currently incurable and can provide lasting treatments for chronic disorders. This is due to their regenerative capabilities. Blackstone Medical’s Trinity and US-Osiris Therapeutics’ Osteocel were the only two products available in the U.S. in 2007. Both are orthopedic products and over $25 million in revenues were earned by these therapies alone in 2007.
Public acceptance, regulatory approval, and the success of clinical trials will determine how the rest of the U.S. market for stem cell therapies develops. Between 2009 and 2013, the first tissue and organ, neurological, diabetes, and cardiovascular stem cell therapies are expected to enter the market. These products will have vast market potential and offer hope to patients by opening up a new realm of treatable disorders.
“This market has almost everything going its way”, says Chris Schutz, senior analyst at MRG. “The big question mark however is the political and public support. The prevalence of potentially treatable disorders, unmet medical needs, rising health care costs, growth in the aging population, and the success of the first stem cell therapy products are all factors that will drive this market upward through 2017.”
Osiris Therapeutics, Blackstone Medical, Geron, Harvest Technologies, Advanced Cell Technologies, Aastrom Biosciences, Cytori Therapeutics, International Stem Cell Corporation, and Arteriocyte, are the names mentioned in the US Markets for Stem Cell Therapies 2007 report as companies offering or developing products for the stem cell therapy market.
Derived from highly proliferative tissues, stem cells are primal cells. In the human body, every organ, cell, and tissue is created by these stem cells. Cancer, diabetes, neurological disease, orthopedic degenerative disease, retinal disease, cardiovascular disease, and other chronic and autoimmune disorders can potentially be cured by stem cells because of their universality and ability to repair or replace damaged tissue.