Full Press Release Details
Subsidiary LifeMap Sciences, Inc. Announces Financing of Up to $3
Million from Share Exchange Agreement
ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 26, 2012--BioTime, Inc. (NYSE
MKT: BTX) and its subsidiary LifeMap Sciences, Inc. ("LifeMap") today
announced that LifeMap entered into a Share Exchange and Contribution
Agreement with Alfred D. Kingsley and a company that he controls,
Greenway Partners, L.P., pursuant to which Mr. Kingsley and Greenway
agreed to contribute to LifeMap, in the aggregate, BioTime common shares
having an aggregate value of not less than $2,000,000 and not more than
$3,000,000. LifeMap may sell, from time to time, some or all of the
BioTime shares it receives and will use proceeds from the sale of the
shares to expand the development and marketing of its database products,
its research products, and its therapeutic discovery activities.
LifeMap expects to use a portion of the net proceeds to fund the
continued development of its online stem cell database LifeMap
and marketing all of its database products, including GeneCards ,
and the market launch of two new online databases, PanDaTox and MalaCards.
LifeMap will also use proceeds to fund expenses of marketing BioTime
research products, primarily online through LifeMap's website. In
addition, LifeMap plans to commence research into the identification and
development of novel cell lines for therapeutic products, including
research on ACTCellerate human embryonic progenitor cell lines ("hEPC
lines") using the LifeMap proprietary discovery platform, with the goal
of identifying those hEPCs that have greatest potential for use in the
development of cell-based therapies for degenerative diseases. One or
more hEPC lines identified as candidates for therapeutic product
development may be selected for development by BioTime, or by one or
more BioTime subsidiaries, including by LifeMap, directly or through
collaborative or licensing arrangements with third parties.
BioTime plans to file a registration statement with the Securities and
Exchange Commission relating to the BioTime shares received by LifeMap.
These securities may not be sold nor may offers to buy be accepted prior
to the time the registration statement becomes effective. This
communication shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation
of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of these securities in
any State in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful
prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any
About LifeMap Sciences, Inc.
LifeMap Sciences' (www.lifemapsc.com) core technology and
business is based on its integrated database suite, The go-to
discovery and marketing platform for biomedical and stem-cell research.
This platform will include GeneCards : the
leading human gene database; the LifeMap database of
embryonic development, stem cell research and regenerative medicine; and MalaCards,
the human disease database. LifeMap Sciences also markets PanDaTox,
a recently developed, searchable database that can aid in the discovery
of new antibiotics and biotechnologically beneficial products.
In addition to database offerings, BioTime plans to make LifeMap
Sciences BioTime's principal marketing subsidiary for research products,
including ACTCellerate human progenitor cell lines, GMP human
embryonic stem (hES) cell lines, hES cell lines carrying inherited
genetic diseases, and ESpan growth media for progenitor cell lines for
non-therapeutic uses. LifeMap Sciences will utilize its databases as
part of its online marketing strategy to reach life sciences researchers
at biotech and pharmaceutical companies and at academic institutions and
research hospitals worldwide.
In a therapeutic discovery collaboration with BioTime, LifeMap's
scientists will utilize LifeMap's proprietary discovery platform and
stem cell database along with the GeneCards and MalaCards
integrated database suite, to aid in the development of BioTime's
proprietary ACTCellerate human progenitor cell lines into
products for the treatment of human diseases, especially degenerative
diseases that might be treatable with cell replacement therapies. The LifeMap
discovery platform will be used to select the progenitor cell lines that
are most likely to be useful in developing cell-based regenerative
medicine therapies for a wide range of diseases.
BioTime, headquartered in Alameda, California, is a biotechnology
company focused on regenerative medicine and blood plasma volume
expanders. Its broad platform of stem cell technologies is enhanced
through subsidiaries focused on specific fields of application. BioTime
develops and markets research products in the field of stem cells and
regenerative medicine, including a wide array of proprietary ACTCellerate
cell lines, HyStem hydrogels, culture media, and
differentiation kits. BioTime is developing Renevia (formerly
known as HyStem -Rx), a biocompatible,
implantable hyaluronan and collagen-based matrix for cell delivery in
human clinical applications. BioTime's therapeutic product development
strategy is pursued through subsidiaries that focus on specific organ
systems and related diseases for which there is a high unmet medical
need. BioTime's majority-owned subsidiary Cell Cure Neurosciences, Ltd.
is developing therapeutic products derived from stem cells for the
treatment of retinal and neural degenerative diseases. BioTime's
subsidiary OrthoCyte Corporation is developing therapeutic applications
of stem cells to treat orthopedic diseases and injuries. Another
subsidiary, OncoCyte Corporation, focuses on the diagnostic and
therapeutic applications of stem cell technology in cancer, including
the diagnostic product PanC-Dx currently being developed for the
detection of cancer in blood samples. ReCyte Therapeutics, Inc. is
developing applications of BioTime's proprietary induced pluripotent
stem cell technology to reverse the developmental aging of human cells
to treat cardiovascular and blood cell diseases. BioTime's subsidiary
LifeMap Sciences, Inc. markets GeneCards , the
leading human gene database, and is developing an integrated database
suite to complement GeneCards that will also
include the LifeMap database of embryonic development, stem cell
research, and regenerative medicine, and MalaCards, the human
disease database. LifeMap will also market BioTime research products.
BioTime's lead product, Hextend , is a blood plasma
volume expander manufactured and distributed in the U.S. by Hospira,
Inc. and in South Korea by CJ CheilJedang Corporation under exclusive