Novogen Soars 50% Following Brain Stem Cell News

Shares of Novogen Limited (ADR) NVGN soared 57 percent following the announcement of a discovery in its regenerative medicine program.

According to the company's press release, Novogen scientists have "identified a family of compounds with an ability to promote the growth and activity of normal brain stem cells." These compounds may work with the Novogen approach of "seeking drugs that promote the non-invasive migration of stem cells to the site of injury, seek to retain those stem cells at the damaged site, and then promote their regenerative capacities."

"In the 1990s it was discovered that part of the hippocampus, the main site of learning and memory within the brain, is constantly renewed throughout life by a pool of dividing stem cells. A second discrete pool of stem cells generates daughter cells that can migrate to sites of brain damage to facilitate repair. Unfortunately, for reasons that are not currently understood, these migrating stem cells fail to produce enough new neurons in the damage site to provide substantial recovery," according to the company.

The company indicated that the dominant approach taken to brain regeneration is "the introduction of tissue stem cells that have been cultured outside of the body. However, delivery of these cells through the skull is very invasive and, so far, these cells seem to be susceptible to the same constraints that limit the resident stem cell population."

Novogen recently traded at $2.96, up 42 percent.