BIOTIME ANNOUNCES NEW PATENT IN CHINA
EMERYVILLE, CA, July 12, 2005 BioTime, Inc. (Amex: BTX) is pleased to announce the issuance of its second Chinese patent directed to BioTime's Hextend® and PentaLyte® solution technology. BioTime's second Chinese Patent No. ZL 00806029.0 issued on May 11, 2005 with broad claims covering the use of Hextend and PentaLyte in the treatment of hypovolemia. This new Chinese patent will be in force until January 24, 2020 and therefore provides important complementary proprietary rights to BioTime's Chinese Patent No. ZL 94192801.2 that issued on March 12, 2003 with claims to the composition of Hextend and PentaLyte.
Hextend is BioTime's proprietary physiologically balanced blood plasma volume expander approved for use in treating the loss of blood volume during major surgery. Hextend is manufactured and distributed by Hospira, Inc. in the United States and Canada, and by CJ Corp. in South Korea under exclusive licensing agreements.
PentaLyte is a pentastarch-based blood plasma volume expander similar in formulation to Hextend. PentaLyte is more quickly metabolized than Hextend, and is designed for use when shorter lasting volume expansion is desirable. BioTime is currently conducting a Phase II clinical study using PentaLyte in cardiac surgery.
"We are very pleased to announce this addition to our patent portfolio in Asia as we seek to fulfill the need in that region for safer and more effective plasma volume expansion solutions." said Judith Segall, Vice President of Operations. "Our licensing agreement with CJ Corp has already made Hextend available in South Korea, and within the last year we entered into a co-development agreement with Summit Pharmaceuticals International Corporation through which we plan to seek regulatory approval for the use of Hextend and PentaLyte in Japan."
About BioTime, Inc.
BioTime, headquartered in Emeryville, California, develops blood plasma volume expanders, blood replacement solutions for hypothermic (low temperature) surgery, organ preservation solutions and technology for use in surgery, emergency trauma treatment and other applications. Information about BioTime can be found on the web at www.biotimeinc.com.
Forward Looking Statements
The matters discussed in this press release include forward-looking statements which are subject to various risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results anticipated. Such risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to the results of clinical trials of BioTime products; the ability of BioTime and its licensees to obtain additional FDA and foreign regulatory approval to market BioTime products; competition from products manufactured and sold or being developed by other companies; and the price of and demand for BioTime products. Other risk factors are discussed in BioTime's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
For Further Information:
Judith Segall (510) 350-2940