ESI Bio was founded as ES Cell International Pte Ltd in Singapore in 2000. Established less than two years after the first isolation of human embryonic stem cells, ESI was the first provider of human embryonic stem cell lines to the stem cell research community and filed some of the first stem cell patent applications. During the years of the George W. Bush restriction on federally funded embryonic stem cell research, 6 of the 21 embryonic stem cell lines permitted for research were held by ESI. In 2010, ES Cell International was acquired by BioTime Inc., an Alameda, California, biotechnology company focused on regenerative medicine and blood plasma volume expanders. Prior to the ESI acquisition, BioTime’s stem cell research—funded in part by California’s ample stem ...