Fitting into Fate

Stem-cell startup Fate Therapeutics grew a Canadian arm Thursday with its purchase of Verio Therapeutics, a tiny startup spun out of labs at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. We'll have full coverage in the upcoming Pink Sheet DAILY, but first a quick note here that San Diego-based Fate, known in biotech circles for being a very surf's-up kind of place, apparently picked a kindred spirit in Verio's cofounder, Lynn Megeney (pictured).

Not only is he an accomplished stem-cell researcher, he is a funny Canadian, which is about as redundant as "cold Edmonton winter." According to his OHRI Web page, Megeney "remains a proud Nova Scotian, enjoys lifting heavy objects (although he shouldn't), doing silly things (like climbing mountains) and aspires to make biscuits as good as his Grandmother did (a serious scientific challenge)."

Perhaps not coincidentally, one of Megeney's areas of study is the role of stem cells in repairing muscle damage. Until you come up with a regenerative-medicine salve for throwing out your back, Dr. Megeney, In Vivo Blog advises you to lift from the knees. Alas, as of this writing he hasn't called us back to discuss biscuit differentiation and molecular pathways of deliciousness.

Photo courtesy of the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute.