Stem Cell Therapeutics Announces Additions to Advisory Board

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Dec. 13, 2011) - Stem Cell Therapeutics Corp. (TSX VENTURE:SSS) ("SCT") today announced that Dr. John E. Dick, Senior Scientist at Princess Margaret and Toronto General Hospitals, and Dr. Janet Rossant, Senior Scientist in the Developmental and Stem Cell Biology Program and Chief of Research at The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, have joined the Company's Scientific and Clinical Advisory Board. Both Drs. Dick and Rossant are members of Canada's Stem Cell Network, which brings together Canada's leading stem cell scientists and supports early-stage research companies, and are among the world's most cited stem cell scientists.

"Our next step following the reorganization announced earlier this month is to establish Stem Cell Therapeutics as the commercialization partner of choice for research in regenerative medicine emanating from the most prestigious institutions in Canada and abroad. With the additions of Drs. Dick and Rossant to our Advisory Board, we have now assembled a combination of unparalleled talent in the arena of international stem cell public companies," said Mr. David Allan, Executive Chairman of Stem Cell Therapeutics. "With the prospective development assets under review for acquisition, we anticipate that having this degree of scientific validation will be attractive to knowledgeable investors worldwide. The combination of this scientific excellence with our restructured board of directors should clearly position Stem Cell Therapeutics as Canada's preferred commercialization receptor company for stem cell technologies."

Dr. Dick is currently Professor of Molecular Genetics at the University of Toronto and a Senior Scientist of the University Health Network in the Research Institutes of the Toronto General and Princess Margaret Hospitals and the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine. He is also Director of the Program in Cancer Stem Cells at the Ontario Institute of Cancer Research (OICR). Dr. Dick's seminal contributions to the fields of molecular haematology, stem cell biology and oncology have been recognized by numerous prestigious awards including the Clifford Prize for Cancer Research (2009) from Australia, the Noble Prize from National Cancer Institute of Canada (2000) and the Diamond Jubilee Award (2007) (with Drs. J.E. Till and E.A. McCulloch) from the National Cancer Institute of Canada. Dr. Dick was elected to the Royal Society of Canada in 2004.

Dr. Dick's research has focused on understanding normal and leukemic human stem cells. This research developed a system for transplanting normal and leukemic human stem cells into immune-deficient mice; an assay that has revolutionized the study of human hematopoiesis. His group characterized many of the properties of normal repopulating cells with this assay system. His lab also established that only a small proportion of human leukemic cells were capable of initiating human leukemia within the immune-deficient mice. Purifiying these leukemia-initiating cells provided direct evidence for the cancer stem cell hypothesis.

Dr. Rossant is a Senior Scientist in the Developmental and Stem Cell Biology Program and Chief of Research at The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto. She is also a Professor in the Departments of Molecular Genetics, Obstetrics/Gynaecology and Paediatrics, at the University of Toronto. Dr. Rossant is Deputy Scientific Director of the Canadian Stem Cell Network and in this role spearheaded the formation of the Ontario Stem Cell Initiative to encourage collaboration among six Ontario stem cell centres. Dr. Rossant received her Ph.D. in Mammalian Development from Cambridge University, United Kingdom, and she continues as Chair of the International Scientific Advisory Board of the Cambridge Stem Cell Initiative.

Dr. Rossant's research centres on the early genetic development in the mouse embryo in order to understand human embryo development and stem cell origins. Her research has led to the discovery of a novel placental stem cell type, the trophoblast stem cell.

About Stem Cell Therapeutics

Stem Cell Therapeutics Corp. (TSX VENTURE:SSS) is a Canadian commercialization receptor company developing stem cell-based therapeutics through partnerships with research institutions or technology transfer organizations. SCT is an industry partner in the Stem Cell Network in Canada and has extensive expertise and experience in the stem cell biotechnology sector based on the intellectual property of Dr. Samuel Weiss, who is credited with the discovery of both the metabotropic glutamate receptor and neural stem cells in the brains of adult mammals. SCT continues to develop and build upon this existing pipeline of stem cell technologies by acquiring new early-stage clinical or late-stage preclinical candidates. SCT's Traumatic Brain Injury product, NTx®-428, is currently in a Phase II clinical trial. For more information, visit: www.stemcellthera.com