CITY OF INDUSTRY, Calif., May 10, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- U.S. BioDefense (OTCBB:UBDE) announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement with the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The company has the priority option to review and license the patent pending technology entitled "Use of Non-marrow Stem Cell for Cardiac Regeneration".
Bone marrow and stem cell transplants can be life-saving for people with blood cancers, solid tumors and some non-cancerous blood disorders. Heart disease is the number one killer of both men and women, and takes more lives each year than all cancer cases combined. According to the American Heart Association, over 1.5 million Americans suffer one or more heart attacks each year and over 500,000 deaths result from acute myocardial infarction annually. Additionally, myocardial damage can occur from many other sources, such as with chemotherapy regimens where more than 10% of all cancer patients suffer heart damage due to side effects of treatment. Stem cell research has identified that adult bone marrow-derived stem cells is associated with painful procedures involving anesthesia, high probability for complications, and significant costs. This has prompted the search for a more readily available cell source for regenerative therapies of damaged tissues and organs.
CEO David Chin stated that, "We are very excited to announce to shareholders that the company has entered into an evaluation agreement for the cardiac regeneration of stem cell technology. Currently, the use of these stem cells for myocardial regeneration may prove to be superior to other stem cell sources by circumventing the pain and anesthesia complications associated with bone marrow aspiration procedures, by doing so would also reduce the number of deaths associated with bone marrow transplants."
U.S. BioDefense, Inc. recently sponsored the "Business of Stem Cell Research" Conference, produced by The Technology Council of Maryland and leading health care law firm Arent Fox. The Business of Stem Cell Research Conference held on April 25, 2005 at the Marriott Bethesda North Hotel & Conference Center in Rockville, Maryland, was the first forum to bring together C-Level executives from industry, politics, academia and science to discuss the promise of stem cell research from a business perspective.
About MD Anderson Cancer Center
In the last 60 years, M. D. Anderson has built a worldwide reputation for excellence in cancer patient care, research, education and prevention. We couldn't have done it without our top-notch faculty and staff, or the generous spirit of volunteers and community members who donate everything from free time to pints of blood to help us Make Cancer History. Our various departments work as a team to deliver multidisciplinary cancer care, a concept pioneered by M. D. Anderson.
About U.S. BioDefense, Inc.
U.S. BioDefense is a Department of Defense central contractor that researches, develops, and commercializes leading-edge biotechnology. U.S. Biodefense, Inc. is focused on transferring, researching, and commercializing groundbreaking technology from Universities, Research Labs, Fortune 500 Companies, and Government Agencies. U.S. BioDefense currently has major exclusive and non exclusive agreements for commercializing the following technology:
Liver repopulation from UCL Biomedica, a division of University College of London
Enrichment and regeneration of cardiac stem cells from MD Anderson Cancer Center
Neural crest stem cells for brain and spinal cord repair from University of British Columbia
Engraftment of drug-resistant hematopoietic stem cells from the University of Minnesota
Bioengineered Skin exclusive license agreement with University of Michigan
U.S. BioDefense is forming a Stem Cell Center of Excellence consisting of Medical Advisors to transfer, research, develop, fund, and commercialize technology in California and has submitted applications for several major Grants provided by the United States Department of Defense's Chemical Biological Defense Agency and the National Institute of Health. Please visit the company's web site for more information and for a white paper on Stem Cell technology transfer, analyzing California university and industry participants' intellectual property resources including ViaCell, Aastrom Biosciences (Nasdaq:ASTM) and StemCells, Inc. (Nasdaq:STEM).
Safe Harbor Statement Forward-Looking Statements
Included in this release are certain ``forward-looking'' statements, involving risks and uncertainties, which are covered by the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the U.S. BioDefense's financial performance. Such statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to certain factors, risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, events and performance to differ materially from those referred to or implied by such statements. In addition, actual future results may differ materially from those anticipated, depending on a variety of factors, including continued maintenance of favorable license arrangements, success of market research identifying new product opportunities, successful introduction of new products, continued product innovation, the success of enhancements to the U.S. BioDefense's brand image, sales and earnings growth, ability to attract and retain key personnel, and general economic conditions affecting consumer spending, including uncertainties relating to global political conditions, such as terrorism. Information with respect to important factors that should be considered is contained in the U.S. BioDefense's Annual Report on Form 10-K as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. The U.S. BioDefense does not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this release to conform these statements to actual results or to changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law.