BOTHELL, Wash., Jan. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- BioLife Solutions, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: BLFS) announced today that it has significantly increased its financial support for several key organizations in the regenerative medicine industry.  The worldwide regenerative medicine market is comprised of nearly 1,000 commercial companies and hospitals, which are developing cell and tissue-based products and therapies to treat cancer, heart disease, diabetes, neurologic disorders, movement disorders, and many other afflictions.

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Chairman and CEO Mike Rice explained the Company's interest to support the regenerative medicine industry by stating, "The regenerative medicine industry is a strategic market segment for BioLife, where the critical value of our novel, clinical grade biopreservation media products continues to be recognized by a growing number of commercial companies and hospital-based transfusion centers.  We understand that broad-based, worldwide adoption of any novel, enabling technologies such as our HypoThermosol® and CryoStor® products must be driven by scientific proof and a thorough vetting of the supplier's operations and quality systems, and we're actively engaged in these organizations by holding committee membership positions, presenting at scientific conferences, and contributing to the creation of best practices documents and standards that can improve the quality of the manufacturing, transportation, infusion, and clinical efficacy of new cell and tissue-based regenerative medicine products and therapies."

Most recently, BioLife joined the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM) as a corporate member for 2011.  ARM is a Washington, DC-based non-profit organization whose mission is to educate key policy makers about the potential of regenerative medicine and to advocate for favorable public policies-funding, regulatory, reimbursement and others to facilitate advances in the field.  More information can be found at: http://alliancerm.org/

BioLife also renewed its annual corporate support as a manufacturing member of the Biomedical Excellence for Safer Transfusion (BEST) Collaborative.  The BEST Collaborative is an international research organization that works collaboratively to explore ways to improve transfusion-related services through standardization of analytic techniques, development of new procedures and execution of clinical trials in hemotherapy. The scientific members of BEST represent a broad diversity of interests and high levels of accomplishment. The manufacturer members of BEST span the gamut of companies engaged with blood collecting and transfusing organizations worldwide to provide a safe and adequate blood supply.  For more information, visit http://bestcollaborative.org/

For 2011, BioLife also upgraded its support for the International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT), by joining the ISCT Industry Community at a Patron level. BioLife executives will participate in key discussions with industry and clinical thought leaders on a number of topics including de-risking the entry of new clinical products into emerging therapeutic markets, assessing appropriate cell types for treatment of diseases, strategizing on clinical trial design in a global regulatory environment, and standardization of cell characterization and pre-clinical models.  More information can be found here: http://celltherapysociety.org

BioLife also joined The Regenerative Medicine Foundation, an internationally focused, not-for-profit organization created to enable the advancement of new treatments and therapies based on regenerative medicine and, ultimately, to realize the goals of personalized medicine. Launched in 2005, the Foundation hosted one of the first regulatory meetings with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the topic of regenerative medicine, and was instrumental in the formation of STRAC, the Soldier Treatment and Regeneration Consortium, a precursor to the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine (AFIRM), and the Washington, DC-based Alliance for Regenerative Medicine.   For more information, visit: http://regenerativemedicinefoundation.org

The Company also renewed its corporate support for AABB, an international, not-for-profit association representing individuals and institutions involved in the field of transfusion medicine and cellular therapies. The association is committed to improving health by developing and delivering standards, accreditation and educational programs that focus on optimizing patient and donor care and safety. AABB membership consists of nearly 2,000 institutions and 8,000 individuals, including physicians, nurses, scientists, researchers, administrators, medical technologists and other health care providers. Members are located in more than 80 countries. For more information, visit http://aabb.org

Finally, BioLife became a 2011 sponsor of the Parent's Guide to Cord Blood Foundation.  The Parent's Guide to Cord Blood Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charity whose primary mission is to educate parents with accurate and current information about cord blood medical research and cord blood storage options.   The Foundation's website explains the medical motivations for banking umbilical cord blood, and the difference between public bank donation versus paying for private storage. The second mission of the Parent's Guide to Cord Blood is to conduct and publish statistical analyses on medical research or policy developments, which could expand the likelihood of cord blood usage. To learn more, visit: http://parentsguidecordblood.org

BioLife Solutions will be presenting and exhibiting at the Phacilitate Cell and Gene Therapy Forum 2011, January 24-26, 2011, at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, D.C. For more information, visit: http://www.phacilitate.co.uk/pages/cgtherapy/index.html

About BioLife Solutions, Inc.:

Founded in 1998, with the initial development of its intellectual property base in 1992, BioLife Solutions develops, manufactures, and markets patented hypothermic storage/transport and cryopreservation media products for cells, tissues, and organs, and also performs contract media manufacturing and contract research and development. The Company's proprietary HypoThermosol® and CryoStor® platform of biopreservation media products are marketed to academic research institutions, hospitals, and commercial companies involved in cell therapy, tissue engineering, cord blood banking, drug discovery, and toxicology testing. BioLife's GMP products are serum-free and protein-free, fully defined, and pre-formulated to reduce preservation-induced, delayed-onset cell damage and death.  US FDA Master Files are available for cross-reference. BioLife's enabling technology provides research and clinical organizations significantly extended storage stability and improved post-preservation viability and recovery of cells, tissues, and organs.  For more information visit http://biolifesolutions.com

SOURCE BioLife Solutions, Inc.