21st Aug 2007 07:00
Stem Cell Sciences plc21 August 2007 SCS Consolidates business through technology buy-back ("Stem Cell Sciences", "SCS") 21 August 2007 Stem Cell Sciences plc, (AIM:STEM, ASX:STC) today announced the completion of atechnology buy-back and rights exchange with Stem Cell Sciences KK (SCS KK,Kobe) to enable each company to pursue their core business focus on a globalbasis. Under the terms of the deal, SCS plc and SCS KK exchanged territorial rights tofuture cell-based therapeutic products. Under the previous arrangement bothcompanies owned 50% rights to the US territory for both SCS plc neural stem (NS)cell based therapeutics and SCS KK adipose-derived stem (hMADS) cell therapies.Under the new deal SCS plc assumes global rights, including 100% of the USmarket, for all neural stem (NS) cell-based therapies and SCS KK assumes globalrights, including 100% of the US market, for SCS adipose-derived stem (hMADS)cell based therapies. SCS plc also regains global rights for all other SCS plccell therapy opportunities, including embryonic stem (ES) cell based therapies. SCS plc will also assume world-wide commercialization rights to all SCS groupproducts and technologies for use in basic and applied research. SCS plc willregain rights previously held by SCS KK in Asia for an undisclosed cash fee,although SCS KK will retain existing rights to license hMADS and NS celltechnology in Japan. The focus of SCS plc is the commercialization of stem cell products andtechnologies for use in basic and applied research and cell-based therapies inneurological disease. The focus of SCS KK is the development of cell-basedtherapies from adipose -derived stem cells (hMADS). Commenting on the transaction Dr Peter Mountford, President and Chief ExecutiveOfficer said "We are pleased to simplify our model to enable each company tobuild on its core business interests on a global basis. A single global businessin stem cell based research and drug discovery simplifies the revenue generatingside of our business, whilst the global market opportunity in neurologicaldisease will help focus and protect our longer term interest in cell-basedtherapies for neurological disease." Dr Mountford added, "Japan is a power house for technology development in ourfield and we maintain strong relations with all key academic scientists andtheir institutions. We now directly support their programs and directlyin-license the technologies we need, such as our recent in-licensing of RIKEN'sROCKi technology. Kenzo Nakajima, Chief Executive Officer of SCS KK said, "We are pleased torationalize our business this way. We are focused exclusively on therapeuticdevelopment and naturally it is important to us to control a global market forthese products". - Ends - For further information, please contact: Stem Cell Sciences plc (United Kingdom)Hugh Ilyine, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer +44 131 662 9829 Weber Shandwick FinancialLouise Robson or Georgia Dempsey +44 207 067 0700 Collins StewartTim Mickley +44 207 523 8313 Stem Cell Sciences (Australia)Peter Mountford, President and CEO +61 3 9905 0600 Talk BiotechFay Weston +61 4 2220 6036 Stem Cell Sciences (USA)George Murphy, Vice President Business Development +1 415 495 7340 Notes to Editors Stem Cell Sciences plc (SCS, AIM: STEM, ASX: STC) is a global biotechnologycompany providing the biological infrastructure of cells and cell culture mediato the burgeoning stem cell research market. Stem Cell Sciences' core objective is to develop safe and effective cell-basedtherapies for currently incurable diseases. SCS retains all rights to itstechnology for therapeutic use and is targeting cell-based therapies forneurodegenerative disease and injury. Revenues from Stem Cell Sciences' research business are delivered via anintegrated network of business teams and regional offices in Edinburgh andCambridge (UK), Melbourne (Australia) and San Francisco (USA). This global reachprovides the Company with the direct access to markets through experiencedpersonnel and local business networks needed to drive SCS's business growth ineach region. The key challenge for the successful application of stem cells in both researchand clinical applications is the reproducible supply of pure, fullycharacterized stem cells and stem cell-derived specialised cells such as nervesand muscle. This represents a significant technological challenge that willrequire access to multiple technologies and a globally integrated stem cellinitiative. To access cutting edge technologies on a rapid and on-going basis, Stem CellSciences has built an exceptional network of highly interactive collaborationswith academic centres of excellence in the stem cell field. These collaborationshave been the source of our founding technologies and continue to provide anexpanding pipeline of products and intellectual property that are central to theCompany's strategy and success. To facilitate research and technology transfer with its major collaboratingacademic institutions, Stem Cell Sciences' business and scientific teams areusually co-located on site or adjacent to the centre of excellence inindependent company facilities. The Company's key collaborating institutesinclude the Wellcome Trust Centre for Stem Cell Research (University ofCambridge), the Institute of Stem Cell Research (University of Edinburgh), RIKENCentre for Developmental Biology (Kobe) and the Australian Stem Cell Centre(Melbourne). Academic and commercial use of stem cells in basic research and drug discoveryprovides the Company with immediate and growing revenue streams and offsets thecost of technology development for full scale cell production of SCS cell-basedtherapeutics. For further information on the company please visit:www.stemcellsciences.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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