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   The 6 W’s: Who, what, where, when, why and what of it …                     

Today’s Gospel:  Stocks continued to climb Wednesday, following a report that Greece is expected to reach a deal with its private creditors by the end of the week, adding to optimism after a better-than-expected housing market report.

Investors appeared to be relieved after a latest report that the debt-ridden nation may reach an agreement with its private creditors by the end of the week. Still, there’s a sense of skepticism … we’ve seen similar problems in the past…[Greece] has their back against the goal line and [the creditors] with the ball are about to run it in.

Mid-Day: The NASDAQ is UP +35.41 (+1.26%) to 2,762.49 while the Dow is also UP +56.58 (+0.45%) to 12,538.65.

Mid-Day Market Commentary: Stocks have moved mostly higher in early trading on Wednesday, adding to the gains posted in the previous session. The major averages have all moved to the upside, with the NASDAQ rising to its best intraday level in well over 2 months. The major averages have seen some further upside in the past few hours, reaching new highs for the mid-day session.

Who is UP … in our sub-sector universe: Monday (closed), Tuesday (11), Wednesday (12)

 Aastrom (ASTM), Athersys (ATHX), Cytori (CYTX), Dendreon (DNDN), Geron (GERN), ImmunoCellular (OTC BB: IMUC), International Stem Cell (OTC BB: ISCO), NeoStem (Amex: NBS), Osiris (OSIR), ReNeuron (RENE.LON); StemCells (STEM) and ThermoGenesis (KOOL)

What’s new in the regenerative medicine/stem cell market … 4 things to know today …

Science Brief: Effort to cure diabetes reprograms skin cells: Researchers are trying to reprogram skin cells to produce insulin as part of an effort by theUniversity ofMinnesota and the Mayo Clinic to look for a cure for diabetes. The collaboration is exploring other avenues to a cure as well.

FDA misses deadline on device user fee proposal: The FDA missed the Jan. 15 deadline to submit to Congress its proposal on fees to accelerate medical device reviews as the agency remains in negotiations with industry. To avoid having Congress take over the discussions, the FDA should reach an agreement with device manufacturers by 2/15.

Pluristem Therapeutics (PSTI DAX: PJT: PLTR) has obtained a NIS 9M ($2.4M) grant from the Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS). PSTI will use the grant to cover R&D expenses for March 2011- February 2012. The Office of the Chief Scientist of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor, empowered by the Law for the Encouragement of Industrial Research & Development – 1984 (R&D Law), oversees all Government sponsored support of R&D in the Israeli hi- tech and bio-tech industries.The Bottom Line: This STATE SUPPORTED credits stimulate the development of innovative state-of-the art technologies, enhances the competitive power of the industry in the global high-tech market, creates employment opportunities and assists in improvingIsrael’s balance of payments. They have gotten it all along, so why is it a press release … another over-hyped report frpm PSTI …

Stem Cell Technologies Finding a Larger Market: The market for stem cell technologies will rise to over $700M this year, and given some positive trends could reach over 1B dollars. The firm cites newly permitted US usage and accompanying research funding in its forecasts, published in its new report, “Stem Cells: Worldwide Markets for Transplantation, Cord Blood Banking and Drug Development.” Kalorama expresses a range for its market forecast because some factors are variable.According to the report, cell therapies are now largely confined to a few conditions, especially oncological conditions such as leukemia, multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkins lymphoma, although certain non-cancerous diseases like aplastic anemia, immunodeficiency and lupus are also increasingly addressed with stem cells. cord blood banking is also a source of revenue growth. With a readily available supply of stem cells that does not require yet-to-be developed technologies to utilize, umbilical cord blood is one of the least controversial sources of stem cells and many people support the notion of routinely collecting cord blood at birth.