The dream of turning stem cell research into mainstream clinical therapies is making significant progress, as a large number of cell-based clinical studies are currently underway - some 2,700 stem cell clinical trials registered with www.clinicaltrials.gov between February 2000 and June 2010. While several companies have launched stem cell products onto the market, it’s the number of products in the pipeline that is starting to capture the attention of observers – including investors – who believe activity in current clinical trials is a telling sign of where the industry is headed.

It's logical to think that synthetic thrombin is safer than bovine- or plasma-derived equivalents. But ZymoGenetics is finding out that it's not an easy sell, especially to Wall Street.

It's logical to think that synthetic thrombin is safer than bovine- or plasma-derived equivalents. But ZymoGenetics is finding out it's not an easy sell, especially to Wall Street.

Wound care, once known as an investment graveyard, is changing. An advanced wound care market that once focused high-end technology on the small and difficult market of burns has now recognized an opportunity in chronic wounds, an enormous and growing market driven by the demographics of aging, and that segment has recently witnessed a dramatic success story. In 2004, the most successful medical device IPO was that of wound care company Kinetic Concepts.