CITY OF INDUSTRY, Calif., May 20, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- U.S. BioDefense (OTCBB:UBDE) has formed the subsidiary "Stem Cell Research Institute of California, Inc." to position the company's Stem Cell technology division for an Initial Public Offering. If successful, the IPO will fund and accelerate its operational plan to establish the first "Stem Cell Center of Excellence" in Southern California to focus on collaborative research of Liver Cell Progenitor and Use for Treatment of Liver Diseases licensed from University College of London Biomedica subsidiary World Patent Number WO 03/006638.
CEO David Chin stated, "It is our belief that access to autologous or allogeneic hepatic stem cells would allow the development of an 'artificial liver.' We are planning on modeling the Google (Nasdaq:GOOG) IPO auction process opening the door for large and small investor participation. If successful, The Stem Cell Research Institute IPO will benchmark the industry, accelerate research, and benefit humankind."
The center will collaborate with area Hospitals and University Researchers to further develop a system which will isolate and expand stem cells which may be used for therapeutic liver re-population in patients with healthy cells for patients with liver disease, especially acute liver failure. The Center of Excellence in Stem Cell Research grant proposal recently filed with the NIH serves as the company's operational business plan. The commercialization plan for liver disease treatment was filed in March by U.S. BioDefense in response to a $4.5 Million Grant RFA from the National Institutes of Health entitled "Center of Excellence in Translational Human Stem Cell Research."
The Principal Investigator on the NIH grant proposal, Dr. Diane Nugent, was recently awarded Orange County Doctor of the Year and has had success collaborating on research trials with other well known public companies. Other Medical Advisors that participated in the Grant application include Doctors and Scientists at Los Alamos Labs, UCLA and UC Irvine. Dr. Keeping holds a Patent in the area of "Methods for the production of biological active agents contained in an extracellular matrix," and two patent applications relating to "Treatment of Bone Disorders." Dr. Keeping has been the principle investigator of numerous NIH Grants including Inhibin Gene Expression in Testing and Sertoli Cells. In addition, Dr. Keeping has held Academic Appointments at Brown University in the departments of Surgery and Orthopaedics. Dr. Keeping recently served as program leader for Tissue Engineering at Aastrom Biosciences (Nasdaq:ASTM).
Dr. Shannon S. Eaker received his Ph.D. from the Department of Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology at the University of Tennessee. Dr. Eaker has two Provisional Patent Applications in the area of conditionally-immortalized hematopoietic progenitor cell populations and nucleic acid probes for detecting the human coronavirus, the human rhinovirus, the human adenovirus, and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus. Dr. Eaker is a specialist in embryonic, adult and germ cell isolation and culture, as well is in microarray development and flow cytometry.
U.S. BioDefense will leverage its current resources into the Stem Cell Research Institute by working to integrate centralized accounting and marketing controls, management, lab researchers and scientific advisors. The company strategy plans for multiple Centers of Excellence furthering research in many different areas with evaluation and commercialization agreements currently in place or being negotiated for with major Universities including:
1) Generation of Human Neural Crest Stem Cell Line and Its
Utilization in Human Transplantation;
a) University of British Columbia; World Patent Number
WO 03/054202
(i) Used to treat and hopefully cure brain and spinal
cord injuries.
2) Method for Selective Engraftment of Drug-Resistant
Hematopoietic Stem Cells;
a) University of Minnesota; U.S. Patent Number 6,485,722
(i) Improves Cancer Therapy and selective engraftment
of transfused or transplanted tissues.
1. Method that transfers drug resistance genes into
normally drug sensitive cells.
(ii) Present method thus allows the administration of
higher dosage of chemotherapeutic agents to the host.
3) Liver Cell Progenitor and Use for Treatment of Liver Diseases;
a) Biomedica U of London; World Patent Number WO 03/006638
(i) Repopulation of the liver with healthy cells for
patients with liver disease
(ii) Allow the development of an "artificial liver."
4) Isolation and Characterization of a Human Oral Keratinocyte;
a) University of Michigan; Pending
(i) Major reconstructive surgery
(ii) Help with chronic conditions such as diabetes or
systemic illnesses like diabetes or hemophilia.
1. Infuse the piece of tissue with gene therapy
compounds
5) Use of Non-marrow Stem Cells for Cardiac Regeneration;
a) University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center;
Patent Pending
(i) Method for treating damaged myocardium
(ii) Circumventing the pain and anesthesia complications
associated with bone marrow procedures.
-- Allows individual to serve as his or her own source of donor cells
In the next ten years, Navigant Consulting expects that $14.2 Billion will be invested in stem cell research worldwide. In the United States, the stem cell therapeutic market is expected to have its share of $3.6 billion in 2015. Join us in 2005 on our mission to lead the advancement of the Stem Cell Industry in California, and the improvement in quality of life everywhere. Please visit the company's web site www.usbiodefense.com for more information and a new white paper on Stem Cell Technology Transfer analyzing California university and industry participants' intellectual property resources including ViaCell (Nasdaq:VIAC), Aastrom Biosciences 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 Company's financial performance and technology license option agreements which may expire. 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 Company'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 Company'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 Company 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.