Medistem Announces New Management Team

SAN DIEGO, CA–(Marketwire – December 7, 2010) – Medistem Inc. (PINKSHEETS: MEDS) announced today the appointment of Dr. Vladimir Bogin as President and Chairman of the Board, Dr. Sergey Sablin as Vice President and Board Member, and Vladimir Zaharchook as Vice Chairman of the Board and Board Member. These changes were brought about as the result of a stock purchase agreement changing majority ownership of the company. 

“Dr. Sablin, who has a track record of excellence in drug discovery and development, is a founder of Selena Pharmaceuticals and a co-founder of Medivation, companies that advanced Dimebon, a Phase III technology that resulted in a deal with Pfizer with an over $200 million in the upfront payment. Dr. Bogin, a licensed physician with training from Brown and Yale, founded the contract research organization (CRO) Cromos Pharma, and has held Director-level positions with Big Pharma. Mr. Zaharchook is a successful businessperson and strategist. I am happy to entrust the future of our company in the hands of these experienced professionals,” said Dr. Neil Riordan, founder and former President and Chairman of Medistem, who resigned along with board member Dr. Roger Nocera as part of the acquisition. Dr. Riordan remains a shareholder and collaborator of Medistem. 

Medistem was founded in 2005 by Dr. Riordan as a developer, licensor, and licensee of adult stem cell therapeutics. To date technologies developed by Medistem have been used in more than 900 patients internationally. Currently Medistem, together with the Indiana company General Biotechnology, is nearing completion of additional experiments requested by FDA to allow for clinical trial initiation as part of its filed IND BB-13898 covering the use of Medistem’s “Endometrial Regenerative Cell” (ERC) product in patients at risk of amputation. 

ERC are a novel stem cell population isolated from menstrual blood that the company has demonstrated is capable of generating heart, brain, lung, liver, pancreatic, bone, muscle, blood vessel and cartilage tissue. Advantages of ERC include: a) lack of need for donor matching, allowing for “off the shelf” use; b) ability to be injected intravenously; and c) economical production in large scale.

“Dr. Riordan has pioneered the development of practical stem cell based products for treatments of debilitating conditions ranging from Multiple Sclerosis, to Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, to Heart Failure. The intellectual property portfolio for these products, which are the basis of Medistem’s US-based developmental efforts, provide a deep pipeline of therapeutic candidates,” said Dr. Bogin.

“In contrast to companies who perform research for the sake of research, Medistem’s technologies are actually benefitting patients today, unfortunately only outside of the US. I was attracted to Medistem’s desire to make these treatments available to patients through the tried and tested FDA regulatory route,” said Mr. Zaharchook.

“The fact that Medistem’s ERC cells can be shipped to any facility in the US and administered without need for complex cell processing or injection procedures makes this stem cell product very attractive from a commercialization perspective,” said Dr. Sablin.

About Medistem Inc.
Medistem Inc. is a biotechnology company developing technologies related to adult stem cell extraction, manipulation, and use for treating inflammatory and degenerative diseases. The company’s lead product, the endometrial regenerative cell (ERC), is a “universal donor” stem cell being developed for critical limb ischemia. A publication describing the support for use of ERC for this condition may be found at http://www.translational-medicine.com/content/pdf/1479-5876-6-45.pdf. 

Cautionary Statement

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of our securities. This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified. Future events and actual results could differ materially from those set forth in, contemplated by, or underlying the forward-looking information. Factors which may cause actual results to differ from our forward-looking statements are discussed in our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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