Sigma-Aldrich may get a boost
A St. Louis-based company that makes stem cell research products could benefit from President Barack Obama’s decision this week to broaden what stem cells qualify for federal funding.
Fine chemicals maker Sigma-Aldrich Corp. develops and sells general scientific kits that can be used by researchers and about 580 products specifically for stem cell research.
These products are a small portion of Sigma-Aldrich’s overall business. But the company is strengthening marketing efforts as stem cell research expands.
Obama signed an executive order Monday to lift federal funding restrictions on certain types of human embryonic stem cells. The action reversed a 2001 policy by President George W. Bush. Bush allowed federal funding only for human embryonic stem cells created before August 9, 2001.
The policy change doesn’t necessarily mean any extra federal research money. But it does expand the scope of funding.
The research opportunities look promising. Embryonic stem cells created after 2001, which now will qualify for federal funds, have been produced with better technology and can better meet what’s needed to treat human diseases, said Dr. Mary Ellen McAsey, an associate professor at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield. She received part of a $1.1 million grant from the Illinois Regenerative Medicine Institute for research using adult stem cells.
Dr. David Smoller, president of the Sigma-Aldrich’s Research Biotech business unit, said it was difficult to quantify how much the company would benefit from the expanded federal guidelines.
An increase in orders could happen if scientists need more research products and tool kits as they continue their stem cell studies with federal money easy payday loans.
The company is well-positioned to take advantage of this potential increase, but it would have only a small effect on overall earnings, said Daniel Ortwerth, a materials analyst for Edward Jones in Des Peres who tracks the company.
Sigma-Aldrich is "very deliberately a well-diversified company," Ortwerth said, so any one product carries little impact.
Smoller sees a stronger potential boost from the stimulus package, which includes more than $10 billion in additional funding for the National Institutes of Health.
"I think life science companies will benefit for sure," Smoller said.
The stimulus package specifies some NIH money for induced pluripotent stem cells, which are adult cells reprogrammed to mimic human embryonic cells, said Dr. John Kessler, director of Northwestern University’s Stem Cell Institute. So an increase in some stem cell research funding is on the way.
That could trickle down to more orders for Sigma-Aldrich.
To market its product portfolio, the company announced Wednesday that it had launched a one-stop shop online for researchers to quickly find and order stem cell research products. The launching and Obama’s action are "total coincidence," Smoller said.
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