25th Oct 2006 12:00
Stem Cell Sciences plc25 October 2006 Embargoed until 12.00 GMT 25 October 2006 Stem Cell Sciences plc ("Stem Cell Sciences", "SCS" or "the Group") Stem Cell Sciences Announce Agreement to Provide Human Embryonic Stem Cell Media Stem Cell Sciences plc (AIM:STEM), the global biotechnology company focused onthe commercialisation of stem cells and stem cell technologies in research andnovel cell-based therapies, is pleased to announce that it has signed anexclusive license agreement with Millipore Corporation to develop and marketSCS' serum free media for the growth of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). Thedefined media will be the first product available in the industry that offersimproved methods for growing hESCs without the need for animal serum. By eliminating the need for serum, researchers can generate improvedexperimental results by avoiding interference from animal products in the media,which will improve the ease of use and reliability in growing hESC's. The lackof animal-free, defined media for growing hESCs has been an important technicalhurdle in enabling researchers to advance their understanding of the therapeuticvalue of stem cells. SCS Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Hugh Ilyine said: "Asresearchers investigate using stem cells to create cures for new diseases, theuse of hESCs are critical. By providing serum-free media to grow hESC's,scientists can be confident that the effects they are studying in the laboratoryare from the cell itself and not from animal products in the media. Theexpansion of our agreement with Millipore will allow researchers to now benefitfrom products offering superior performance in both mouse and human stem cellresearch." Under the terms of the agreement, Millipore will manufacture, market and sellthe new media under the brand name HEScGRO Embryonic Stem Cell Medium. SCS willreceive royalties from all future sales of HEScGRO Embryonic Stem Cell Medium.The agreement builds on the successful collaboration between Millipore and SCSformed in 2005 to commercialize media for the growth of mouse embryonic cells.Millipore's ESGRO Complete(TM)is the leading product used by researchers todayfor mouse stem cell experimentation. "Millipore is committed to being the most innovative supplier of products to thestem cell research market," said Dominique Baly, President of Millipore'sBioscience Division. "Our agreement with SCS reflects the significantinvestments we are making to serve the needs of researchers exploring thetherapeutic value of stem cells. We chose SCS because their media workedextremely well in growing hESCs in a variety of different stem cell lines andconditions and they had the most advanced development of serum-free media." Millipore expects to have HEScGRO Embryonic Stem Cell Medium available forcommercial distribution before the end of the year. HEScGRO has been shown tobe effective at growing many different human embryonic stem cell lines,including lines that have been approved by the U.S. government for use infederally sponsored research, as well as the "MEL" hES cell lines derived byStem Cell Sciences in Australia and distributed by Millipore. Millipore offersa broad range of products and reagents for stem cell research through itsChemicon product line, which is part of the company's Research Reagents BusinessUnit. Millipore Research Reagents Business Unit creates innovative and high qualitybiological reagents for life science researchers to conduct their experimentsconsistently. These biological reagents include antibodies, dyes and biochemicalreagents that are used to identify and measure cellular interactions, cellsignaling and other cellular functions. - Ends - For further information, please contact: Stem Cell Sciences plc 0131 662 9829Hugh Ilyine, Chief Operating OfficerSue Furber, Director of Finance & Company Secretary Weber Shandwick | Square Mile 020 7067 0700James White Notes to EditorsStem Cell Sciences plc (SCS, AIM: STEM) is a global biotechnology company,established in Melbourne, Australia in 1994, providing products in theburgeoning stem cell research and drug discovery markets, in addition to thetargeted development of cell-based therapies for neurodegenerative disease andinjury. The Company has established a leading intellectual property (IP) and technologyportfolio that enables the commercial application of stem cells in drugdiscovery, providing the Company with early-stage revenue streams and technologydevelopment for at scale cell production of SCS cell-based therapeutics. SCS principal focus is in neurological disease. Revenues in the neurotechmarket, including pharmaceuticals, devices and diagnostics, grew 10% in 2005 toUS$110 billion*. SCS operates as a group of independent operations with laboratories in Scotland,Japan and Australia, each of which is affiliated with an academic centre ofexcellence. These include the Institute of Stem Cell Research (ISCR), Edinburgh,UK, RIKEN Centre for Development Biology, Kobe, Japan and the Australian StemCell Centre, Melbourne, Australia. SCS has four business units focused on key sustainable business strategies. SC Proven(R) provides cell culture media (liquid formulations) and reagents thatenable the growth and differentiation of stem cells. The first commerciallyavailable product, a novel, serum free, stem cell growth medium, has beenexclusively licensed for manufacture and marketing to Chemicon, part ofMillipore Corporation. SC Licensing licenses SCS proprietary technologies, such as Internal RibosomeEntry Site (IRES) and Stem Cell Selection, for application in laboratory-basedresearch and discovery. SCS has licensed technology to major pharmaceutical andbiotechnology companies including Pfizer, Sanofi Aventis, GSK, Deltagen Inc andLexicon Genetics Inc. SC Services provides specialised stem cell production for basic research anddrug discovery, including high-throughput applications. SC Therapies' goal is to develop safe and effective cell-based therapies forcurrently incurable diseases. SCS is conducting preclinical evaluations of itsneural stem cell lines in a number of therapeutic applications. The firstpreclinical programme is being undertaken by SCS' Japanese affiliate, whichrecently announced the exclusive licensing of human multi-potent adipose-derivedstem (hMADS) cells for therapeutic purposes. SCS KK will conduct preclinicalstudies for the treatment of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy in 2006. For further information on the company please visit www.stemcellsciences.com Millipore (NYSE: MIL) is a leading provider of products and services thatimprove productivity in biopharmaceutical manufacturing and in clinical,analytical and research laboratories. The Company is organized in two operatingdivisions. Its Bioprocess Division helps to enable pharmaceutical andbiotechnology companies to optimize their manufacturing productivity, ensure thequality of drugs, and scale up the production of difficult-to-manufacturebiologics. Its Bioscience division helps to optimize laboratory productivity andworkflows by providing reagents, kits and other enabling technologies andproducts for life science research and development. Millipore has a deepunderstanding of its customers' research and manufacturing process needs, andoffers reliable and innovative tools, technologies and services. The Company ispart of the S&P 500 Index and employs approximately 5,800 employees worldwide.For additional information on Millipore Corporation, please visit its websiteat: www.millipore.com. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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