Press Release

World's First Allograft Injection of Human Myoblasts into the Human Heart

Memphis, TN, January 23, 2003. On Friday, January 17, 2003, Cell Transplants International, LLC, (CTI) in collaboration with the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, completed the world's first allograft injection of human myoblasts into the human heart at the Bakoulev Center in Moscow, Russia. Three patients ages 63, 64, and 49 received 1.1, 1.0, and 1.2 billion myoblasts, respectively. The first transplant began at 11:00 A.M., and the last transplant was completed at 3:00 P.M. Each procedure lasted approximately ten minutes and was performed open-chest after coronary artery bypass grafting. Before the transplants, all three patients were suffering from angina, myocardial infarction, and shortness of breath. Post-surgery, the patients were in stable condition with no reports of arrhythmia. Six days post-surgery, the patients are continuing to do well and are improving each day. Additional post-surgery analysis will be conducted and the data will be accumulated and published for peer review.

Myoblasts are immature skeletal muscle cells carrying a full complement of normal genes. When transplanted, the cells repair and replace degenerating cells in the defective heart muscle. Because allogenic myoblasts are derived from third-party donors, the patients were administered cyclosporine orally as an immunosuppressant five days prior to transplantation. It is hoped that these myoblasts will repopulate the diseased hearts with live cells in addition to adding some regenerative capacity.

The myoblasts were supplied by CTI through its subsidiary Cell Transplants Singapore Pte. Ltd. (CTS), which has a cGMP facility in the Singapore Science Park. CTS was granted ISO 9000 Certification in November 2002.

Last year, global expenditure in cardiovascular diseases topped 280 billion USD. Less than 5000 donor hearts were available for heart transplants, today's most viable solution for heart failure. With healthcare costs increasing at such a rapid rate and limited availability of donor hearts, this transfer of allogenic myoblasts promises to reduce costs and provide potential treatment to the hundreds of millions of heart attack patients worldwide.

Academician Leo A. Bockeria, M.D., the Chairman of the Bakoulev Scientific Center for Cardiovascular Surgery, was the surgeon responsible for the injections. Academician Bockeria was pleased with the initial results, and he is eager to move forward with the transplantation of the next nine patients included in this study.

Peter K. Law, Ph.D., CTI's Chairman and CEO, pioneered the Myoblast Transfer Technology and holds world patents for its applications. Professor Law was in Moscow as a co-principal investigator during the cardiac procedure. Encouraged by the early results, Professor Law said, "While we are still in the preliminary stages of monitoring the safety and efficacy of this procedure, we are very excited to see that the patients are stable with no arrhythmia. This study, which is the first of its kind in the world, shows tremendous potential to help heart patients worldwide."

About CTI
Cell Transplants International is a Memphis-based company that specializes in using myoblast transplantation as a platform for gene and cell therapy. Formed in 1997, CTI is developing this myoblast transfer technology as a treatment for muscular dystrophy, heart disease, and Type II diabetes.