Singapore, Tuesday 23nd March 2006 – ES Cell International (ESI) is pleased to announce the sale of 22.5% equity and the right to earn out an additional 22.5% in its newly formed Israeli subsidiary, Cell Cure Neurosciences Ltd, to Hadasit Bioholdings Ltd (HBL), HBL recently listed on the Tel Aviv stock exchange. The proceeds of the sale will be used to build on the pioneering work of Professor Benjamin Reubinoff and his team at the Hadassah University Hospital, Jerusalem. In 2004, this team was the first to demonstrate and publish functional improvements in a rat model of Parkinson’s Disease following a transplant of nerve cells made from one of ESI’s NIH registered human embryonic stem (hES) cell lines. Cell Cure intends to raise further funds to develop other indications using the neural intellectual property it has exclusively licensed from ESI.
Commenting on the announcement, Dr Alan Colman, CEO, ESI said: “We are delighted to have this opportunity through Cell Cure to directly participate in the development of important and novel cell therapy approaches to debilitating neural diseases. These activities nicely complement ESI’s own hES-based clinical cell therapy programs in diabetes and congestive heart failure.”
Dr. Charles S. Irving, COO, Cell Cure Neurosciences Ltd. said: "We view this agreement as an initial step towards the commercial development of a cell therapy product for Parkinson's disease based on neural progenitor cells derived from human embryonic stem cells. We believe that the company is well positioned for making rapid progress in this area, being located on the campus of the Hadassah University Hospital, in close proximity to the laboratories of Professor Reubinoff and cGMP compliant laboratories."
About Cell Cure
Cell Cure was established towards the end of 2005 as an Israeli subsidiary of ESI with a well defined mission to develop cell-therapy products for the cure of neurodegenerative disorders. The initial effort is to turn human embryonic stem cells into dopamine producing nerve-cells for the cure of Parkinson's disease. The company operates within the laboratory facilities of Hadassah University Hospital, with a cGMP facility included. With the recent investment made by HBL and government grants tailored for stem-cell research, the highly qualified and dedicated team of Cell Cure expects to preserve an already attained leadership in the development of cures for disorders of the nervous system (e.g. Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, ALS, Spinal cord injury).
About Hadasit Bioholding Limited (HBL)
HBL was established in late 2005 as a subsidiary of Hadasit (the technology transfer company of Hadassah University Hospital). In January of 2006, HBL was registered in the Tel-Aviv stock exchange (TASE) as one of the life-science pioneers of trading in this market. HBL is structured as a holding company for the Hadasit holdings in 9 companies that span through three major clinical territories namely, cell-therapy, oncology and inflammatory disorders. The 9 companies selected for the transaction reflect the need to fulfill two main criteria being market potential of a blockbuster and beyond proof of concept in an animal model of the disease. HBL's board of directors already started the approval process of investment including Cell Cure and two other companies namely, TK-Signal (oncology) and Hapto (tissue regeneration).
Dr. Rafi Hofstein, CEO of Hadasit has also been nominated CEO of HBL. Adv. Ophir Shahaf has also recently joined the company as Senior VP.
About ES Cell International
ESI is a regenerative medicine company that is driving the revolutionary use of stem cells to cure major degenerative diseases and a world leading provider of products and technologies derived from human embryonic stem cells.
The company owns six of the 22 hES cell lines currently listed on the US National Institute of Health (NIH) Stem Cell Registry. ESI has assembled a world-class management and scientific team to best capitalise on the opportunities that will emerge from hES cell technology, and generate value for ESI.
ESI is concentrating its therapeutic development resources on generating cell replacement therapies for insulin-dependent diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, areas of significant unmet clinical need and considerable commercial opportunity.
ESI is housed at the Biopolis in Singapore, Asia’s biomedical sciences R&D hub.
For further information please contact:
Louise Harris/Clarissa Tan
Ruder Finn Asia
Tel: (65) 6235 4495
Email: tanc@ruderfinnasia.com | 
