The Fifth Annual Stem Cell Summit, held in New York, included topics covering new commercial developments in the research field of stem cell-based therapies. This conference report highlights selected presentations on embryonic and adult stem cells, stem cell-based therapies for the treatment of orthopedic and cardiovascular indications and inflammatory diseases, as well as technologies for processing and storing stem cells. Investigational therapies discussed include placental expanded (PLX) cells (Pluristem Therapeutics Inc), StemEx (Gamida-Teva Joint Venture/Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd) and remestemcel-L (Osiris Therapeutics Inc/Genzyme Corp/JCR Pharmaceuticals Co Ltd/ Mochida Pharmaceutical Co Ltd).