Vancouver biotech gaining global profile in burgeoning stem cell research sector December 19-25, 2006; issue 895  Business in Vancouver By Daniela Tuchel Recent Biocompare survey finds StemCell Technologies now a top-of-mind supplier for international researchers A Vancouver biotech company is fast building a reputation as a world authority in the stem cell research field. According to a recent Biocompare Inc. survey, StemCell Technologies is ranked as a top supplier by international scientists who use stem cell products in their research. Just over 28 per cent of the 200 researchers who completed the survey identified StemCell when asked to name a stem cell product supplier. It was followed by U.S.-based Invitrogen, with 23.3 per cent. StemCell also won top ratings in the survey’s technical support and website categories. Located in San Francisco, Biocompare is a world leader in connecting and informing buyers, users and sellers of life science products. StemCell, which ships stem cell products to more than 30 countries, is projecting revenue of $27 million in its current fiscal year. That figure represents a 24 per cent increase over fiscal 2005, according to Eric Atkinson, the company’s manager of marketing and corporate development. About 90 per cent of StemCell’s revenue is generated from exports. While their use remains controversial, stem cells have the potential to be used to treat a wide range of diseases and disabilities. StemCell provides researchers with numerous stem cell products, including antibodies and tissue culture reagents for research in hematology, immunology and cancer. Reagents produce chemical reactions to detect, measure or generate other substances. “We see our level of competition rising every year. The area is heating up,” said Atkinson. “StemCell Technologies used to be a dominant provider of tools for a very small niche market around the world. Now there are lots of other companies coming in.” StemCell has two subsidiaries in Vancouver: StemSoft Software Inc. and Malachite Management Inc. It also has offices in the U.K. and France and distributors in Europe, Asia, the U.S., Australia and New Zealand. When the company was founded in 1993, it had six employees. Today it has a permanent staff of 210 people, 188 of which work in StemCell’s Vancouver-based headquarters and its two subsidiaries. The remainder work in Europe (12) and the U.S. (10). One of StemCell’s latest products is RoboSep. The automated laboratory instrument, which is controlled via a colour touch screen, is used in cell separation procedures. StemCell product manager Catherine Dunn said RoboSep saves lab technicians time and reduces the risk of infecting researchers because people using it don’t have to handle biological samples. The company’s StemSoft Software Inc. subsidiary provides data management software to organizations such as blood banks, laboratories and biotech companies and to physicians in 32 countries around the world. The software collects, processes and stores data related to running bone marrow transplant programs in clinics. The subsidiary was established in Vancouver in 2000 and has a staff of 20. Malachite Management Inc. provides consulting and technical writing services to national and international organizations in the medical and scientific sectors. It employs 14 people. Paul Barran, industrial technical adviser of the National Research Council – Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP) in Vancouver, described StemCell Technologies as a world leader in the development of the reagents needed to grow and work with stem cells.

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