Exclusive Life Science Feature
Robin Smith, M.D.,
chairman and CEO, NeoStem
NeoStem's CEO Spearheads
Nontypical Collaboration
By Rob Wright
T
here are three taboo topics at work — sex, politics, and religion. You would
think discussing science should therefore be acceptable. However, strike up
a conversation on stem cell research, and you're likely going to be covering
all three of those taboo topics.
Now imagine you are the CEO of a stem cell therapy research and development company, and you decide to discuss
the benefits of stem cell research with the executive leadership of one of the largest and wealthiest organizations in the
world, which, by the way, has also taken a firm and very public position against the use of embryonic stem cell research
— the Roman Catholic Church. That is exactly what Robin Smith, M.D., chairman and CEO of NeoStem (NASDAQ: NBS),
decided to do. Not only did Smith strike up a conversation, she and the team at NeoStem successfully orchestrated what
has been characterized as the Vatican's first-ever contract of collaboration with an outside commercial venture to advance
adult stem cell research.
38
LifeScienceLeader.com
November 2013