Will ACTC end up as Lotus123 or become the MS of Regenerative Medicine?

[loki911]

If the "mid term" plan comes out here before the end of the 1Q 2012, then I think we will be all set. If they (ACTC management) keep stumbling and bumbling around, then STEM will pass us by and unfortunately the best tech (hESC vs. adult) will not necessarily prevail. It happened in the early IT days, all of the time, especially with Microsoft due to better marketing and management. Some of the better products left in the MS wake were Lotus123, Novell,Corel,Wordperfect,Wordstar, DR-DOS, etc.etc.

It is a little unnerving to say the least, amid all of the ridicule/disagreement by family and friends over my investment in ACTC this is the one piece of news and the recent PR fail has finally rattled my resolve. If you are big pharma execs and adult stem cells can get the job done, even if not as well but still ultimately get it done without the controversy, which would you choose?

Again if I am a big pharma exec, I would strongly consider saying to my staff hey what these ACTC guys are doing is great and they have blazed the trail for us, let them go it alone. Now go find me a Dr. who can get it done with adult stem cells (even if it's not as good), lets hire a fantastic marketing staff, get a face of the company like Suzanne Sommers, and let's pave the road!!

It is scary now that we now have a direct competitor!! One of the monumental advantages to investing in ACTC just went away...no competition...IMO. Especially if we keep floundering....Gary stop trying to go it alone and accept the best offer you got now before you lose our advantage or more than you thought we'd gain by waiting!!! Let RPE pave the way to the other IP that can then be the "Go it aloners" or grand JV's, once ACTC is annointed as King of the Reg. Med Hill.

**UPDATE** - okay so I feel a little better now knowing that STEM's cells are derived from fetal brain tissue not Adult IPSC's, still we now have a competitor where there was none!! (maybe lights a fire possibly the silver liner) and at what point does another rival company figure out a way to try this with more politically correct cells. At least perceived more politically correct until ACTC does right by way of marketing Blastomere!

Saddest part is, as I think many on iCell have pointed out, ACTC has the best opportunity to be the Microsoft of Reg. Meds built on the foundation of the Blastomere patent as MS was built on MS-DOS and Windows with early winning products like Word. Of course for ACTC that would be the RPE's with the butter for the bread coming in way of the Hemangioblast and other future programs.

Just frustrated....Time for management to exhibit a sense of urgency! Slow and deliberate still led to mistakes on the PR. I know Brentlew is right from an investor's standpoint when he always ends with "Patience and Patients" but at some point for the Company, too much of the first kind and not enough of the second could hurt ACTC.

[natureeguy]

Well the good news is that they just got some very good board of directors....Give them some time....

[hophead]

You do know that stem's "adult" cells are fetal based right? Aborted fetus based...

[loki911]

Too boot the company, hopefully ACTC, that with urgency can tap into an aging population (baby boomers with money) needing rejuvenating products...wins! new eyes, new blood, new rejuvenated tissue, new organs, etc. Fountain of Youth!

[loki911]

You do know that stem's "adult" cells are fetal based right? Aborted fetus based...

I knew some were but did not think they all were. I also thought bone marrow and other lines could be derived differently if I am wrong on that one then I stand corrected and thanks for the info Hop! Knowing blastomere sounds like a more pleasing, politically correct process than anything tied too abortion is a win then for us!

[copper thorn]

A lot of people got rich on Lotus 123 too, you know.

But I don't think that the medical/pharma business has the same networking effect that the computer business does. In the computer business if 50% of people use an operating system, then 90% of people will use that operating system because there are advantages to being able to work together with other people and participate in the larger software market. Those networking advantages can outweigh any small disadvantages in the design of the product.

In the pharma business, we go through these huge expensive trials to arrive at a conclusion that product X reduces cholesterol by 17%, improves vision by 23%, mitigates depression by 9%, or improves an erection by 31%. There is no networking advantage that offsets any proven improvement in symptoms. Doctors are going to read the medical journals relevant in their fields and proceed from there.

We expect that embryonic stem cells are going to be more effective than adult stem cells for the same reason that a young person heals from injury more quickly than an old person.

Companies like Stem or Mesoblast? Whatever they do, they are simply preparing ACTC's lunch. Whatever market they create, we expect to be able to demonstrate that embryonic stem cells are more therapeutically potent.

[stemdynasty]

Lanza is constantly upgrading "systems". He is working with his team from CHA on Ipsc's for blood. Read his comments. He is using hesc's as a means to an end. We validate the quickest. We commercialize under Orphan Drug status. We develop tissue. We capitalize on our blastomere patent. We excel in Ipsc therapy at the same time with the team from CHA. It's all happening behind closed doors. So many have already been caught with their pants down anticipating a much worse sell off. Now the risk of being not fully invested is so severe, because not one person here can tell me what or when the next pr is coming. We had everything wrapped up in a little bow before as far as what was next and when. Now anything can happen at anytime to create massive amounts of wealth overnight.

[minnesotafarmcountry]

Can you say BETA/VHS?

[hophead]

I knew some were but did not think they all were. I also thought bone marrow and other lines could be derived differently if I am wrong on that one then I stand corrected and thanks for the info Hop! Knowing blastomere sounds like a more pleasing, politically correct process than anything tied too abortion is a win then for us!

But Loki you do bring up a good point of hopefully the company doen't get too complacent and is always trying to stay at least one step ahead of the competition. This is a good discussion btw.

[msemporda]

A therapy that works will only fail if it's underlying IP protection is invalidated or
a higher political ruling wipes out it's usability...

We have the IP protection - perhaps the only hesc operating system
We have the first mover advantage
We probably have the most effective cell therapy
We have no road-blocks yet on the political front to commercialization
and we have a deepening pipeline

EVEN IF the competition have therapies in the AMD field we still have the market
on our product strengths

AND IF we can deliver an unbeatable price for our product we'll capture the lion's
share

RISK is we get knocked out politically (unlikely) or out-priced (also unlikely) or
out distributed (possible depends on our partnering ability).

The platform is the body and that's not going away - the applications are what
works best at the best price IMO - there will still be multiple apps however

Cheers

[Superfeeed]

Stem Cells Inc. is at least 18 months behind ACT. ACT will now always be ahead...
In addition Stem Cells inc use aborted fetal brain tissue to derive its cells?? this might limit investor interest??

[hophead]

Stem Cells Inc. is at least 18 months behind ACT. ACT will now always be ahead...
In addition Stem Cells inc use aborted fetal brain tissue to derive its cells?? this might limit investor interest??

Seriously, if the right wingers are wavering on our blastomere technology, i think cells from aborted fetuses is about as offensive to them as you can get. Actually, even to me that's pretty offensive and I'm morally (not fiscally) pretty far to the left...

[bigstem]

Apple had the surperior operating system but Microsoft got lucky.

Who will get lucky ACT or STEM?


"1981 also saw the release of the IBM PC. At that time the market for personal computers was highly fragmented with dozens of manufactures competing in both in the home and business markets. The first IBM PC was too expensive for the home market, but it proved a huge hit with business. "You can't get fired for buying an IBM" said many, but the PC quickly developed a more important attraction - open standards. Failing to realise the importance of the operating system, IBM purchased one from Microsoft. As a result other manufacturers were then able to copy the IBM hardware design and ship their 'Clones' with copies of MSDOS purchased directly from Microsoft. As a result, even without IBM's approval or participation, their PC became an open standard with virtually unstoppable economies of scale. By 1990 IBM Compatible PCs captured an 80% market share, by 2000 97%."

The Short History of GUI - Microsoft vs Apple