Durham , NC , June 9, 2005 -- StemCo Biomedical, Inc. today announced that it has signed a worldwide distribution agreement whereby StemCell Technologies will distribute StemCo’s ALDEFLUOR™ product. StemCell Technologies had previously distributed ALDEFLUOR only in the Americas and the Asia-Pacific territory (excluding Japan ).

  ALDEFLOUR is a kit that enables the identification of stem and progenitor cells for research purposes utilizing StemCo’s proprietary ALDH-based technology. Aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) is an intracellular enzyme found in stem and progenitor cells. The product is manufactured under GMP and has been marketed since the beginning of 2003 as a Research Use Only (RUO) reagent.

Researchers using ALDEFLUOR have demonstrated multiple uses for the product and described important functional attributes of cells isolated with it, know as ALDH br cells. Research publications show that virtually all the human cells that give long term engraftment in the most stringent animal models for blood stem cell are in the ALDH br population. ALDEFLUOR has been used to delineate the development of blood cell lineages and also to differentiate different types of leukemia cells and leukemia stem cells derived from blood cells.  Additional studies have suggested that ALDH br cells can generate other tissues besides blood.  Other publications show that rat neural stem cells are detected with ALDEFLUOR, and one major review of the field of stem cell markers has suggested that the product may be a universal reagent for detecting stem and progenitor cells. 

“We look forward to working closely with StemCell to maximize the sales potential of ALDEFLUOR worldwide,” stated Ed Field , President of StemCo Biomedical. “StemCell Technologies is a leader in providing innovative products to the stem cell research market and has a reputation for excellent customer and technical support.”

Dr. Allen Eaves, StemCell Technologies' President, added "We are excited to be able to leverage our knowledgeable sales and marketing team, as well as our global distribution infrastructure to distribute ALDEFLUOR for StemCo . The product fits in very well with our products for stem cell research and we’re delighted that StemCo has chosen to expand StemCell’s exclusive distribution territory for ALDEFLUOR to encompass the entire world.”

ALDEFLUOR can be purchased from StemCell Technologies via email at info@stemcell.com .

About StemCell Technologies

StemCell Technologies, Inc. is a life sciences company located in Vancouver , British Columbia . StemCell provides highly specialized cell culture media and cell separation products that support and enable medical research in areas such as cancer, hematology, immunology, cell transplantation, gene therapy, and developmental biology. For further information please contact Dr. Eric Atkinson, Director of Corporate Development at (604) 877-0713 or visit StemCell’s website at www.stemcell.com

About StemCo Biomedical, Inc.

StemCo Biomedical is developing and commercializing proprietary products that identify unique populations of adult stem cells that have the potential to revolutionize treatments of cancer, cardiovascular disease and other degenerative diseases. For further information please contact Ed Field at (919) 484-2571 or visit the website at www.stemcobiomedical.com .

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