Stem cell sciences advances, first cell therapy program for degenerative disease

Stem cell sciences advances towards its first cell therapy program for degenerative disease

Edinburgh, U.K. and Kobe, Japan and Melbourne, Australia, 16th November, 2005 - Stem Cell Sciences plc (AIM: STEM), the global stem cell company, today announced that Stem Cell Sciences KK (SCS KK), an affiliated company of Stem Cell Sciences plc (SCS plc) in Japan, has signed a worldwide exclusive license agreement with The Universite de Nice Sophia-Antipolis, France (University of Nice), to commercialise human multipotent adipose-derived stem cells (hMADS) and technologies which will form the basis for a cell therapy programme focused on degenerative diseases including Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD).

Under this agreement, SCS KK and affiliated companies of the SCS group will obtain exclusive rights to the use of patents and expertise relating to the hMADS technology in the field of cell therapies. The agreement was brokered by France Innovation Scientifique et Transfert SA (FIST SA) on behalf of The University of Nice who will receive an upfront fee, annual milestones payments and royalties. Further financial details were not disclosed.

The hMADS cells are human multipotent stem cells obtained from the subcutaneous fat or adipose tissue of young donors. These stem cells are able to produce many different types of cells including cardiac, vascular, muscle, bone, adipose cells and cartilage in the laboratory.

In research to date, these cells have been transplanted into a mouse model of DMD and were not rejected in the absence of immunosuppressive treatment. In addition, considerable and long-term human dystrophin expression resulted. These results are highly encouraging as they highlight the potential of these cells in cell-based therapies (allo-transplantation) for patients suffering from DMD. The hMADS cells will form the basis of SCS KKs cell therapy programme in degenerative neuromuscular disease - the second cell therapy program of the SCS group.

"We are delighted to have obtained the state of the art hMADS technology that will allow the supply of cells for cell-based regenerative therapies from a renewable, laboratory grown resource. These renewable hMADS cells will form the basis for our pre-clinical program due to commence in 2006 in Muscular Dystrophy and Arteriosclerosis. We look forward to working together with SCS plc to accelerate commercialisation of the hMADS development program," stated Mr. Kenzo Nakajima, President and CEO of SCS KK.

"The initiation of this cell therapy program marks a significant milestone in our business. Our partners at SCS KK are exceptionally well positioned to pursue this exciting opportunity on behalf of the SCS group given their location and interaction within The Kobe Frontier Medical Precinct. This outstanding biomedical precinct provides access to state of the art infra-structure and clinical expertise needed to progress the opportunity in an urgent area of unmet medical need," commented Dr Peter Mountford, President and CEO of SCS plc.


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About Stem Cells

Stem Cells are undifferentiated (unspecialised) cells that can divide to make copies of themselves or differentiate (change) to become specialized cells of a specific tissue such as muscle, nerve cells or blood.


About hMADS

hMADS are stem cells derived from the fat tissue of young children. The tissue sample from which hMADS are derived may arise as a consequence of an unrelated surgical procedure or tissue biopsy. hMADS have been shown to integrate into the muscle of mice and to produce significant levels of the protein that is defective in patients that suffer DMD.

The hMADS cells licensed from the University of Nice were discovered by Dr. Christian Dani, INSERM Director and Head of the Stem Cells and Differentiation laboratory and Professor Gérard Ailhaud, Head of the Adipose Tissue Development laboratory, both working at the Institute of Signaling, Biology of Development and Cancer in France.


About Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD)

DMD affects approximately 1 in every 3,500 boys and is the most the most frequent, lethal, inheritable childhood disease. DMD has an estimated potential market of approximately US$3 billion and is the most common form of a family of more than 20 muscle-wasting diseases.


About Stem Cell Sciences plc

Stem Cell Sciences (SCS plc) is a global biotechnology company established in Melbourne in 1994 to undertake development and commercialization of stem cell technologies. SCS plc, a major shareholder in SCS KK, is headquartered in Edinburgh, UK and has an additional wholly owned R&D subsidiary in Melbourne, Australia. SCS plc is expanding operations in 2006 to Cambridge, U.K. and the United States. The new U.K. site in Cambridge will focus on automation of cell-based drug discovery assays for the pharmaceutical industry. The U.S. expansion will initially be based on licensing opportunities of key SCS technologies, including Stem Cell Selection and novel Neural Stem cells. Stem Cell Sciences listed on the London AIM exchange on 18 July 2005.


About Stem Cell Science KK

Stem Cell Sciences KK (SCS KK), a joint venture between SCS plc and Sosei, is a biotechnology company focused on generating cell-based regenerative therapies. The Company is currently developing stem cell technologies for cell therapies utilizing various intellectual properties obtained from its affiliated company, SCS plc, in the UK. Such technology development includes collaborative research with Riken Centre for Developmental Biology (CDB), Tissue Engineering Research Center at National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (Kobe) and participation in the research project titled “Collaboration of Regional Entities for the Advancement of Technological Excellence” supported by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. For further information about SCS KK, please visit www.scskk.com.


About France Innovation Scientifique et Transfert SA

France Innovation Scientifique et Transfert SA (FIST SA), is charge of patent management and technology transfer for various French academic research institutes, especially the CNRS. Since it was founded in 1992, FIST SA has negotiated more than 700 technology transfer agreements, and evaluated more than 2500 invention disclosures. The Company currently employs a team of 35 people and is based in Paris, France.


Stem Cell Sciences:
David Newton or Dr. Megan Munsie
General Manager & Scientific
Development Manager
+61 3 9905 0600

Stem Cell Science KK
Masao Noguchi
+81 78 306 0381