U.S. Patent Office Upholds StemCells, Inc.'s Patents In Reexamination Decisions
PALO ALTO, Calif., (April 15, 2008) – StemCells, Inc. (NASDAQ: STEM) announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has upheld two of the Company’s neural stem cell patents, with only minor amendments, thereby rejecting the arguments raised by Neuralstem, Inc. in its reexamination petitions of last year.
The upheld patents, U.S. Patent Number 5,851,832 and U.S. Patent Number 6,497,872, have been exclusively licensed by the Company and claim, respectively, methods for proliferating neural stem and progenitor cells and for using these cells as transplantation therapeutics. The patents are two of four patents which are the basis of a patent infringement suit initiated by StemCells against Neuralstem in 2006. In late 2006 and early 2007, Neuralstem petitioned the PTO to reexamine all four of the litigated patents. The PTO has now published Notices of Intent to Issue an Ex Parte Reexamination Certificate for both the ‘832 and ‘872 patents, thereby closing prosecution on the merits in these reexaminations and reaffirming the patentability of all of the 112 previously issued claims, as amended.
“We welcome this action by the PTO, which preserves intact the basis of our infringement action against Neuralstem,” said Martin McGlynn, President and CEO of StemCells, Inc. “Through this process, the Patent Office has reconfirmed the ground-breaking nature of the inventions claimed in these patents, which are part of our multi-layered patent portfolio. We expect that our other patents under reexamination will also emerge with broad claims upheld. We can now move ahead expeditiously with our suit against Neuralstem and its collaborators and we remain confident they will ultimately be found to have infringed numerous claims of our patents.”
About StemCells, Inc.
StemCells, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of cell-based therapeutics to treat diseases of the central nervous system and liver. The Company’s product development programs seek to repair or repopulate CNS and liver tissue that has been damaged or lost as a result of disease or injury. StemCells has pioneered the discovery and development of HuCNS-SC ® cells, its highly purified, expandable population of human neural stem cells. StemCells has completed enrollment and dosing of a six patient Phase I clinical trial of its proprietary HuCNS-SC product candidate as a treatment for neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (NCL) and expects the trial to be completed in early 2009. NCL, which is often referred to as Batten disease, is a rare and fatal neurodegenerative disease that affects infants and young children. StemCells owns or has exclusive rights to more than 50 issued or allowed U.S. patents and more than 150 granted or allowed non-U.S. patents. Further information about the Company is available on its web site at: www.stemcellsinc.com .
Apart from statements of historical fact, the text of this press release constitutes forward-looking statements regarding, among other things, the future business operations of StemCells, Inc. (the “Company”). These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this news release. StemCells does not undertake to update any of these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date hereof. Such statements reflect management’s current views and are based on certain assumptions that may or may not ultimately prove valid. The Company’s actual results may vary materially from those contemplated in the forward-looking statements due to risks and uncertainties to which the Company is subject, including uncertainties regarding the Company’s ability to obtain the increased capital resources needed to continue its current operations and to conduct the research, preclinical development and clinical trials necessary for regulatory approvals and continued patent prosecution efforts; uncertainty regarding the validity and enforceability of the Company’s existing patents, which may be questioned or contested through requests for reexamination and other legal proceedings; and other factors that are described under the heading “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K.
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CONTACT: StemCells, Inc.
Rodney Young
Chief Financial Officer
650-475-3100, Ext. 105
irpr@stemcellsinc.com
SOURCE: StemCells, Inc.
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