WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwired - Aug 15, 2013) - The Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM), the international organization representing the interests of the regenerative medicine community, today announced the presenting companies for its upcoming Stem Cell Meeting on the Mesa (SCMOM) Regen Med Partnering Forum. The meeting will include over 45 leading regenerative medicine-focused companies, including presentations by Athersys (NASDAQ: ATHX), Organovo (NYSE MKT: ONVO), Osiris (NASDAQ: OSIR) and Sangamo (NASDAQ: SGMO). Collectively, the more than 45 presenting companies have over 30 products on the market, are conducting more than 100 clinical trials and are seeking partnerships for more than 75 product candidates.

The third annual Regen Med Partnering Forum will take place October 14 and 15, 2013 at the Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa, La Jolla, California as part of the SCMOM. Early bird registration for the meeting will end on August 30, 2013. The SCMOM's eighth Annual Scientific Symposium will immediately follow the Regen Med Partnering Forum on October 16, 2013 at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Combined, these meetings will attract over 800 attendees from around the globe, highlighting the promise and progress of this rapidly evolving, interdisciplinary field.

2013 Presenting Companies and Institutions:
AlloCure, Athersys, Avita Medical, bluebird bio, BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics, Capricor, Cellular Dynamics, Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine (CCRM), Cord Blood Registry, Cytori, DiscGenics, Fibrocell Science, GlaxoSmithKline, Histogen, jCyte, Juventas, Lonza, MaxCyte, Medipost, Mesoblast, Minerva Biotechnologies, Molmed S.P.A., Moores Cancer Center, Nanofiber Solutions, NeoStem, New York Stem Cell Foundation, Organogenesis, Organovo, OrthoCyte Corp., Osiris Therapeutics, PCT, Pluristem Therapeutics, Promethera Biosciences, Q Therapeutics, Sangamo BioSciences, Shire, SironRX, Stanford University, StemBioSys, StemCells, Inc., Terumo BCT, TheraBiologics, TiGenix, ViaCyte.

The following four companies will provide updates on recent research and financial achievements, providing further validation and support for the regenerative medicine field:

Athersys recently received a SBIR Fast Track grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, which will provide up to $2.8 million in support of a Phase 2 clinical study evaluating the administration of MultiStem^® therapy to patients who have suffered a heart attack or acute myocardial infarction. The Company currently has several clinical stage programs involving MultiStem for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, ischemic stroke, damage caused by myocardial infarction and the prevention of graft versus host disease.

Organovo Holdings, Inc. recently closed a $46.6 million public offering of common stock. Earlier this year, the company presented data on human liver tissues generated using their breakthrough 3D bioprinting technology that are truly three-dimensional, being up to 500 microns in thickness in the smallest dimension, and consisting of multiple cell types arranged in defined spatial patterns that reproduce key elements of native tissue architecture.

Osiris Therapeutics, Inc. just this week reported overwhelmingly positive data from a clinical study in diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) patients. Grafix®, the company's commercialized wound care product, closed three times as many wounds as standard of care -- the largest relative improvement ever reported in a multi-center, randomized, controlled clinical trial for DFU. Grafix is a human cellular repair matrix containing living stem cells for acute and chronic wound repair.

Sangamo recently published groundbreaking research in Nature, demonstrating the use of their zinc finger DNA-binding protein technology to inactivate the extra chromosome responsible for Down syndrome (DS). This advance, accomplished in induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived from DS patients, provides a model to study the basic biology of DS which may enable the development of drugs that can potentially rebalance the cellular processes and pathologies that are impacted by this disorder.

In addition to presentations by cutting-edge companies seeking partners and investors, the Regen Med Partnering Forum will include interactive panels addressing critical commercial, scientific, regulatory and reimbursement issues. One-on-one meetings will also be scheduled with a state-of-the-art partnering system to connect participants. The Regen Med Partnering Forum was developed by the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM) and the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) in 2011 and has grown 35% over the past three years.

To learn more or to register for the 2013 Stem Cell Meeting on the Mesa please visit www.stemcellmeetingonthemesa.com. Registration is complimentary for investors and credentialed members of the media. Investors and media should contact Laura Parsons or Michelle Linn for more information.

About The Alliance for Regenerative Medicine
The Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM) is a Washington, DC-based multi-stakeholder advocacy organization that promotes legislative, regulatory and reimbursement initiatives necessary to facilitate access to life-giving advances in regenerative medicine. ARM also works to increase public understanding of the field and its potential to transform human healthcare, providing business development and investor outreach services to support the growth of its member companies and research organizations. Prior to the formation of ARM in 2009, there was no advocacy organization operating in Washington, DC to specifically represent the interests of the companies, research institutions, investors and patient groups that comprise the entire regenerative medicine community. Today ARM has more than 140 members and is the leading global advocacy organization in this field. To learn more about ARM or to become a member, visit www.alliancerm.org.