NeoStem, Inc. Acquires Stem Cell Technologies, Inc. from UTEK Corporation Nov 14 2007

Acquisition Provides Initial Opportunity for the Development of Therapeutic Applications

TAMPA, Fla. & NEW YORK--(November 14, 2007)--UTEK Corporation (AMEX:UTK - News) (LSE-AIM:UTK), an open innovation company focused on technology transfer, and NeoStem, Inc. (AMEX:NBS - News), a leading-edge biotechnology company capitalizing on breakthroughs in the burgeoning field of adult stem cell therapeutics, are pleased to announce that NeoStem, Inc. has acquired Stem Cell Technologies, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of UTEK, in a stock for stock transaction.

Stem Cell Technologies, Inc. owns a worldwide exclusive license to a technology developed by researchers at the University of Louisville to identify and isolate rare stem cells from adult human bone marrow, called VSELs (very small embryonic-like) stem cells. VSELs have been shown to have several physical characteristics that are generally found in embryonic stem cells. They also have been shown to grow in the laboratory and multiply into clusters of cells that then can differentiate into specialized cells found in different types of tissue including cardiac, neural, endothelial, muscle, pancreatic and hematopoietic cells.

“I am enthusiastic about working with NeoStem, Inc. to further develop the potential of VSELs,” said Mariusz Z. Ratajczak, M.D., Ph.D., a co-inventor of the VSEL technology and head of the Stem Cell Biology Program at the James Graham Brown Cancer Center at the University of Louisville. “We have both purified and identified at a single cell level an adult counterpart of embryonic stem cells that is present in adult bone marrow. We believe these cells are a real alternative to embryonic stem cells for obtaining a population of histocompatible, pluripotent stem cells for regenerative purposes.” In 2006, Dr. Ratajczak was honored by his native Poland’s Foundation for Polish Science with a “Polish Nobel Prize”, for his VSEL discovery, which goes to researchers who have accomplished the most in their field.

“The potential exists for the isolated VSELs to differentiate into specified cells that could be given to a patient where they would interact within the specific organ in order to repair degenerated, damaged or diseased tissue, the three “D’s of aging.” NeoStem is enthusiastic about this technology and its potential to help expand our proprietary position in the adult stem cell collection and storage arena as well as the burgeoning field of regenerative medicine,” said Dr. Robin Smith, M.D., M.B.A., Chief Executive Officer of NeoStem, Inc.

“NeoStem has the ability to harvest and cryopreserve these pluripotent VSELs from individual patients, setting the stage for their use in personalized regenerative medicine,” said Dr. Wayne Marasco, Chairman of NeoStem’s Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Marasco is also Associate Professor in the Department of Cancer Immunology and AIDS at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. “Further, if VSELs can be expanded from individual patients and their potential to develop into different types of tissue cells maintained, it would represent a significant step toward overcoming the two major limitations in the development of stem cell therapies today, the ethical dilemma that has given rise to debate over using human embryonic stem cells for research and the immunological problems associated with using stem cells from a donor other than one’s self.”

"UTEK is pleased to consummate this technology transfer with NeoStem, Inc.," said Jennifer Willis Adams, Manager of Technology Licensing at UTEK Corporation.

Concurrent with the Stem Cell Technologies, Inc. acquisition, NeoStem entered into a Sponsored Research Agreement with the University of Louisville under which NeoStem will support further research in the University of Louisville laboratory of Dr. Ratajczak, a portion of which will be covered by the acquisition.

About the University of Louisville Research Foundation
The Mission of the Office of the Executive Vice President for Research is to promote and support research, scholarship, and creative activities; to assist faculty and staff in obtaining intramural and extramural support; to serve as an advocate for the value of research in an educational setting; to enhance the vitality of campus-based research; and to encourage its use to enrich education, enhance technology transfer and serve the community. For more information about the University of Louisville, please visit its website at www.research.louisville.edu.