€6.2m Grant for the development of CellBeads in Cardiovascular Diseases

Farnham, UK, 30 March 2010: Biocompatibles International plc (LSE:BII) is pleased to announce the award of a €6.2M grant for the development of CellBeads^TM for the treatment of Cardiovascular Diseases.

The award has been made by the BioMedical Materials program (BMM), a public-private partnership subsidised by the Dutch government. The project was one of seven selected by BMM joint International Scientific Advisory Board. The Chair of the Board, Professor Bob Löwenberg, MD said, "it was a delight to be involved in the selection of such an excellent portfolio of research".

The grant recognises the collaboration between the four parties to the agreement - The Molecular Cardiology Laboratory at the Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam; the University Medical Centre, Utrecht; CellMed, who developed the CellBeads products, and Biocompatibles UK who designed the cardiovascular programmes, the latter two being subsidiaries of Biocompatibles.

A comprehensive programme encompassing both AMI (acute myocardial infarction, or heart attack) and CHF (congestive heart failure) will determine optimal dose and optimal technique of bead delivery; long-term cell viability; GLP-1 expression; safety; bead distribution measured by imaging; and evaluation of additional cardioprotective therapeutic proteins. The project aims to deliver the data package to then enable First-In-Man studies in AMI and CHF.

The Principal Investigator for the CellBead Project, Professor Henricus Duckers of the Erasmus Medical Centre commented:

"The use of the CellBeads technology has great potential for the treatment of patients suffering from an acute myocardial infarction or congestive heart failure, due to the expression of potent cardioprotective factors over a sustained period of time. The administration of the CellBeads, as an off-the-shelf product, immediately following an AMI and the retention of significant numbers of encapsulated stem cells in the infarct zone, offers a practical treatment regime not currently available from other technologies."

Early work has already demonstrated the technical feasibility of the approach and the improvement in cardiac performance that is possible.

This grant builds upon the award of MRC¹ research within the Cardiovascular Biology Group at the University of Manchester; and Technology Strategy Board funding at the Bristol Heart Institute, both aimed at evaluating the feasibility of CellBead technology in cardiovascular applications².

Managing Director of Biocompatibles UK, Dr Peter Stratford, added:

"We congratulate our colleagues at CellMed on this endorsement of their technology. This grant enables us to build on the promising clinical progress we have made with CellBeads in the treatment of Stroke. This is a radical treatment for a major disease area and it is the aim of the project team that the first patient will be treated before the end of 2013."

Biocompatibles is providing support for the programme over the next three years, which will be reflected in the annual financial guidance, for which there is no change in respect of the current year.

¹Medical Research Council

²An article on the CellBead technology is featured the March issue of the journal Regenerative Medicine, following its presentation late last year to the stem-cell community at the London Regenerative Medicine Network meeting, University College London.

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