Proneuron Biotechnologies Pre-Clinical Study Shows that Primed Macrophages Enhance Recovery of Function and Preserve the Integrity of a Severely Injured Spinal Cord.
September 30, 2003

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LOS ANGELES & NESS-ZIONA, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 30, 2003
Results published in September Issues of the Journal of Neuroimmunology and the Journal of Neuroscience

Proneuron Biotechnologies, Inc. (www.proneuron.com), a leader in the development of medical treatments for spinal cord injuries and other disorders of the central nervous system, announced today new pre-clinical experiment results that show that the company's Macrophage therapy (ProCord) may effectively help improve the function and preserve the integrity of a damaged spinal cord. The results of the laboratory work, conducted by Proneuron's scientists, are published in the September issue of the Journal of Neuroimmunology (JNI) in an article entitled "Features of skin-coincubated macrophages that promote recovery from spinal cord injury." Subscribers may access this article at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/01655728.

"The pre-clinical results are promising as ProCord appears to markedly improve the degree of neurological recovery. In rats it was shown that several months following treatment, the integrity of the spinal cord was better, with much less cyst formation than in the control group of untreated rats. Cyst formation is a known complication of spinal cord injury that is associated with increased neurological loss and pain," said Dr. Eti Yoles, Proneuron's VP Product Research & Development, who directed the research.

ProCord consists of autologous activated macrophage therapy for the treatment of patients with acute complete spinal cord injury (SCI) within 14 days of damage. Proneuron has already successfully completed a Phase I clinical study of the treatment and is now enrolling candidates in a Phase II study at sites in Israel and pending approval in the U.S.

Proneuron also announced today the publication of another set of study results, these in the September 24th issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, in an article entitled "Vaccination with Dendritic Cells Pulsed with Peptides of Myelin Basic Protein Promotes Functional Recovery from Spinal Cord Injury." The article can be accessed by subscribers at: http://www.jneurosci.org/.

This study was jointly conducted by scientists from Proneuron together with researchers from the laboratory of Prof. Michal Schwartz at the Weizmann Institute of Science. Here, the research team investigated another immune cell, called a dendritic cell, which also appears to promote spinal cord healing after injury.

About Proneuron Biotechnologies
Proneuron Biotechnologies, Inc. is a privately held biopharmaceutical company developing products for the medical treatment of spinal cord injuries and other disorders of the central nervous system. Its products are based on a proprietary technology for modulating the interaction between the nervous and the immune systems. The company is currently engaged in several clinical studies in the U.S., Belgium and Israel. These include: a trial of ProCord therapy for the treatment of spinal cord injuries and a trial of Cop-1 for the treatment of Huntington's disease (HD). In 2001, Proneuron entered into a strategic collaboration with Teva to develop and commercialize Cop-1 for various neurodegenerative indications other than MS. Proneuron is also developing PN277 for the treatment of additional neurodegenerative diseases.

Patient, Immediate Family of Patient and/or Physician inquiries: 24 hour-a-day Patient Recruitment Center:

Email: clinical.trial@proneuron.com
Telephone: 1-866-539-0767 (U.S.toll-free) or 1-506-652-3486
Fax: 1-866-214-7078
Callers outside of the U.S., please use standard international dialing codes.

Contacts
Proneuron Biotechnologies, Inc.
Marjie Hadad, +972-55-365-220
Marjie.hadad@proneuron.com