Regenerative cell therapies are often touted as the future of medicine, and now, it seems that future can finally be talked about in terms of years instead of eons. In the past, investors have had a tendency to point to the scant harvest gleaned from the $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion poured into regenerative medicine over the past decade by public and private investors. In 2010, however, with many therapies moving into clinical trials, and not just the simpler, pharmaceutical-like delivery of cells, but more complex, three-dimensional organs, investors appear to have renewed optimism.
In 2009, there was only one public offering in regenerative medicine, that of Geron Corp., which raised $46.2 million....