Regenerative medicine developer Vet-Stem Inc. has changed its name to VetStem Biopharma at the same time the company announced key milestones in its allogeneic stem-cell program. The Poway, Calif., company, founded in 2002, processes fat collected from cats, dogs and horses and sends concentrated stem cells back to the animal’s veterinarian for injection as a treatment of joint, tendon or ligament conditions. VetStem reported today that its laboratory was awarded cGMP (Current Good Manufacturing Practice) status under a regulatory program overseen by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The company also hired regenerative medicine veteran Kevin Hicok, MS, MSc, as director of research and development. “Our allogeneic [donor] adipose stem cell development program has been kicked into high gear with the completion of our cGMP manufacturing facility and hiring of [Hicok],” said CEO and chief science officer Bob Harman, DVM, MPVM. VetStem has worked with veterinarians to provide regenerative therapy for 10,000 patients. The name change is a sign of the company’s evolution, said Alexis Nahama, DVM, who joined VetStem in January as president and chief commercial officer. “Everything we do today is geared towards meeting and exceeding pharmaceutical industry standards,” Dr. Nahama said. “We track cases through an internal reporting system. We approve our documents through an internal regulatory review process. We operate our company through a set of over 400 quality standard operating procedures. “We are truly a biopharmaceutical company, and our new name reflects this reality and our future directions.”
