. PharmaStem is the successor to Biocyte Corporation, the pioneer in the development of umbilical cord and placental blood preservation and its therapeutic use. In recognition of its leadership, PharmaStem has received three U.S. patents to date: No. 5,004,681, issued on April 2, 1991; No. 5,192,553, issued on March 9, 1993; and No. 6,461,645, issued on October 8, 2002. Other patent applications are pending.

John R. Haines, President and CEO of Anthrogenesis, stated: "We are very pleased about this License Agreement with PharmaStem. Importantly, parents who entrust their children's cord blood to our Lifebank division can be secure in the knowledge that we are the first company to obtain a license under the important PharmaStem patent portfolio. This gives Lifebank a substantial competitive advantage over others in the field that are not licensed. This license provides a firm base for Lifebank to use in building its cord blood banking lines of business."

Umbilical cord and placental blood is rich in stem cells that can reconstitute the human blood and immune systems. PharmaStem provided the roadmap for the creation of today's rapidly growing field of cord blood storage. A number of cord blood banks have been established since the '681 and '553 patents were issued in the early 1990's, including autologous banks that store cord blood for family use as well as allogeneic banks that collect cord blood for public use. The cryopreservation, at or shortly after birth, of blood from the infant's umbilical cord and placenta enables the "hematopoietic" stem cells contained in the blood to be thawed at a later time and used, among other things, for the reconstitution of blood and immune systems to treat anemia, leukemia and other disorders.

Nicholas Didier, CEO of PharmaStem Therapeutics, commented: "This license agreement is a recognition of the pioneering and valuable contributions evidenced by PharmaStem's patent portfolio. This agreement is an important milestone in our program to enforce our patents and prevent the unlicensed use of our proprietary technology."

The '681 and '553 patents have been asserted by PharmaStem in a lawsuit for patent infringement, filed on February 22, 2002, in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. Named as defendants in the lawsuit are ViaCell Inc, Cryo-Cell International Inc, CorCell Inc, StemCyte Inc, NuStem Technologies Inc, CBR Systems Inc (also known as Cord Blood Registry Inc), Bio-Cell Inc, and Birthcells Technology Inc. Anthrogenesis is not a defendant in the lawsuit.