HAIFA, Israel, March 26, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Pluristem Therapeutics, Inc. (PSTI) (TASE:PLTR), a leading developer of placenta-based cell therapies, announced today that a delegation from the UK made an official visit to Pluristem on March 25, 2014. Officials visiting Pluristem included the UK’s Minister for Universities and Science, David Willetts, whose responsibilities include overseeing the Department of Business Innovation and Skills (BIS), and Dr. Stephen Ward, Chief Operating Officer of the Cell Therapy Catapult, a non-profit organization which aims to grow the UK cell therapy industry.
British Prime Minster David Cameron recently launched a call for ground breaking collaborative research between Britain and Israel into Alzheimer’s, Type 1 Diabetes, heart disease, and Parkinson’s. British delegates including Mr. Willetts and Mr. Ward were in Israel to participate in the 2nd UK-Israel Regenerative Medicine Conference (BIRAX), which is being held on March 25th and 26th, 2014 in Haifa.
Minister David Willets stated, “In recent years, Israel has emerged as a leading player in the biomedical arena and in particular in the cell therapy space. Our objective is to deepen cooperation in scientific and clinical trials between Israel and the United Kingdom by establishing strategic partnerships with leading medical centers in the UK and Israeli companies.”
“It was an honor to host Minister Willetts, Dr. Ward, and members of their delegation here at Pluristem. We look forward to further talks regarding cooperation and collaboration with the British government and UK-based companies. As we accelerate our clinical pipeline, we are evaluating various locations for our clinical trials as well as other business partnership initiatives. We see the UK as an attractive territory that potentially enables a shorter path to market for our PLX products, particularly if the UK approves the Promising Innovation Medicine legislation that would speed up patients’ access to innovative new therapies,” commented, Pluristem CEO Zami Aberman.
About Pluristem Therapeutics
Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. is a leading developer of placenta-based cell therapies. The Company’s patented PLX (PLacental eXpanded) cells are a drug delivery platform that releases a cocktail of therapeutic proteins in response to a host of local and systemic inflammatory and ischemic diseases. PLX cells are grown using the company’s proprietary 3D micro-environmental technology and are an “off-the-shelf” product that requires no tissue matching prior to administration.
Pluristem has a strong intellectual property position, company-owned GMP certified manufacturing and research facilities, strategic relationships with major research institutions and a seasoned management team.
