CytoTherapeutics Appoints Billie M. York Executive Vice President Of Opthalmics

Position Created to Oversee Development and Commercialization

LINCOLN, R.I., April 23 /PRNewswire/ -- CytoTherapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:CTII) today announced the appointment of Billie M. York, Ph.D., as Executive Vice President, Ophthalmics. Dr. York joins the Company from Alcon Laboratories, Inc., a division of Nestle, SA, where he was Vice President of Research and Development Ophthalmic Products. Alcon is a world leader in the development and marketing of eye products with 1997 sales of more than $2 billion. Dr. York will be responsible for the establishment and management of CytoTherapeutics' program to develop cell-based products to treat serious eye disorders, including blindness.

"We are very pleased that Dr. York -- a leader in the commercial development of a number of ophthalmic products -- will now spearhead efforts to develop ophthalmic therapies based on our encapsulated cell and stem cell technologies," said Richard M. Rose, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer. "He has demonstrated the ability to build and direct a world-class, high-performance organization capable, of both discovering and developing novel therapeutics for the eye."

As Vice President, Research and Development of Ophthalmic Products at Alcon, Dr. York built and directed Alcon's drug discovery group which, in 1997, led to the greatest number of key regulatory approvals in Alcon's history. During his tenure, he created a record number of Alcon patents. Dr. York's group at Alcon discovered and provided several new drugs, including Iopidine(R), Vexol(R), Alomide(R), Patanol,(TM), Emadine(TM) and Azopt(TM). Prior to his role as Vice President of the R&D Ophthalmic Products Department at Alcon, he was Vice President of Research where he directed all of Alcon's drug discovery programs. Among other activities, he established Alcon's cellular and molecular biology research group, which created the company's glaucoma genetics research program in collaboration with several university partners.

Dr. York earned his Ph.D, in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Texas at Austin and holds a B.S. in Chemistry from the Pan American University in Edinburg, Texas. In 1985, Dr. York took his business training at Harvard Business School's Program for Management Development. He is a member of the American Chemical Society, the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) and the International Society for Eye Research (ISER).

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CytoTheTapeutics, Inc. is a biotechnology company focused on the development of cell-based therapeutics. The Company's encapsulated-cell technology is designed to treat a number of serious diseases and disorders of the central nervous system (CNS), including chronic pain, by delivering therapeutic proteins directly to the CNS. The company's stem cell programs seek to repair or repopulate neural or other tissue that has been damaged or lost as a result of disease or injury.

Statements in this press release other than statements of historical facts constitute forward looking comments regarding, among other things, future business operations. The Company's actual results may vary materially from those forward looking statements due to risks and uncertainties to which the Company is subject, such as failure to achieve required product development, delays in obtaining, or failure to satisfy conditions imposed for, regulatory approval, the need to raise additional capital, risks of third-party intellectual property, adverse clinical developments, and other risks, which are described in Exhibit 99 to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K entitled "Cautionary Factors Relevant to Forward Looking Statements."

SOURCE: CytoTherapeutics, Inc.