Education Management Corporation (EDMC) and Echo Global Logistics (ECHO) both listed on the NASDAQ on Friday. Education Management, which provides campus-based and online post-secondary education programs, raised $360 million on Thursday by offering 20 million shares at $18.00, the low end of the proposed $18.00-$20.00 range. Priced at the $14 midpoint of its proposed range, Echo Global Logistics, which provides web-based shipping and freight management services, raised $80 million.

The accompanying table below includes 32 companies in the ETF Innovators Emerging Stem Cell Index of U.S.-listed stocks with market caps below $250M. I will maintain the index with these 32 components and track the total market value and stock price changes as an indicator of investor and trader sentiment toward the stem cell and regenerative medicine space.

Below is a list of all 32 companies in descending order by market cap with a total value of $1.27B and an average stock price change of -15% over the past year for the index, as compared to losses of 20% for the Healthcare Sector SPDR (XLV), 4.7% for SPDR S&P Biotech (XBI), 9.1% for iShares Nasdaq Biotech (IBB), and 18.9% for PowerShares Biotech & Genome (PBE).

If there’s one sector that’s been battered, beaten, and pulped this year, it has  been the IPO market. In fact, things are so bad that—despite the successful Visa (V) IPO—in all of Q2, there were no venture-backed offerings at all. With very good reason: Risk.

You see, IPOs thrive in bull markets. They need institutional investors willing to take risks… and they need giddy private investors with cash burning a hole in their collective pockets, eager and willing to throw cash at every cockamamie scheme the investment bankers bestow on the market.

Editor's note: This article was corrected on June 1.

Democrats and stem cells -- a budding romance. Pundits opine that this will be the year of the Democrats, at least as far as Congress is concerned. Conventional wisdom holds that pharmaceutical stocks suffer under the Democrats due to concerns over pricing and liberal drug importation.

There are three healthcare IPOs on deck for this week: Power Medical Instruments (PMII) a company that develops computer assisted surgical instruments; BioHeart (BHRT), a company which develops autologous cell therapies for the treatment of chronic and acute heart damage; and Merrion Pharmaceuticals (MERR), a specialty pharmaceutical company,based in Ireland, engaged in the development of improved oral dosage forms of drugs with poor bioavailability.

IPOs on tap for this week include: Affinion Group Holdings (AFI),global provider of comprehensive marketing services and loyalty programs; Compellent Technologies (CML), a provider of enterprise-class network storage solutions; EyeTel Imaging (EYT), a medical diagnostic company that that designs technology to help doctors diagnose preventable blindness; Targanta Therapeutics (TARG), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative antibiotics for serious infections treated or acquired in hospitals and other institutional settings; Textainer Group Holdings (TGH), a lessor of intermodal containers based on fleet size; Virgin Mobile USA (VM), a leading national provider of wireless communications services, offering prepaid, or pay-as-you-go, services targeted at the youth market and BioHeart (BHRT) a biotechnology company focused on the development of autologous cell therapies for the treatment of chronic and acute heart damage

All quotations are from the companies' most recent S-1 filings with links provided.

All quotations are from the companies' most recent S-1 filings with links provided.

The company did say, however, that the treatment was safe, and it seemed to rebuild cartilage and improve joint condition. The same improvement was not seen in any of the placebo patients. In the Phase I/II trial, Chondrogen was injected directly into the knee joint following meniscectomy surgery, with the goal of rebuilding the meniscus. MRI scans did not show any increase in volume in the meniscus in patients who received the treatment, though the unexpected results were observed. Osiris is developing mesenchymal stem cell [MSC] treatments harvested from the bone marrow of human donors (see story). Osiris moved up 19 cents to $18.64.

Invitrogen (IVGN) sold its BioReliance contract research division for $210 million to private equity firm Avista Capital Partners. Invitrogen, a maker of diagnostic tools, bought BioReliance in 2003 for $430 million. Investors applauded the move, sending Invitrogen 10% higher. It gained $5.99 to end at $66.35.