The rapidly evolving stem cell space may have matured to the level where a single company's misstep no longer raises questions about the viability of the whole endeavor. At least that seems to be the reaction following the mixed results of Osiris Therapeutics' Prochymal stem cell therapy in an interim look at a study in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Every so often an undeniably important technology emerges resulting in the consolidation of IP and the alignment of thought leaders around a few main players. The new battleground is stem cells. And though the two heavy hitters in the promising induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell space, Ipierian and Fate Therapeutics, are perhaps less aggressive in publicly asserting their dominance, they've positioned themselves as leading competitors in the still-nascent but rapidly advancing area of cellular reprogramming.

Our monthly update on technology transfer deals--licensing agreements between companies and universities or other research institutions--in the fields of life sciences, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, in vitro diagnostics and research/analytical instrumentation and reagents.

Denmark's Gastrotech Pharma is harnessing gastro-intestinal hormones such as ghrelin and GLP-1 to develop more effective therapies for irritable bowel syndrome and cachexia.