International Stem Cell Corporation Develops Technology to Replace Cartilage for the Treatment of Osteoarthritis

CARLSBAD, CA--(Marketwired - September 30, 2015) - International Stem Cell Corporation (OTCQB: ISCO)(www.internationalstemcell.com, ISCO or the Company), a California-based biotechnology company developing novel stem cell-based therapies, today announced that the Company's scientific team has developed a robust innovative technology to generate functional articular cartilage from the patient's own skin or adipose tissue to treat osteoarthritis. This breakthrough technology may allow ISCO to not only address the therapeutic needs of patients suffering from osteoarthritic knee joints, but to also treat those with shoulder joints and intervertebral spinal disk osteoarthritis.

"While we are working on obtaining regulatory approval for the Parkinson's disease treatment in Australia, as well as in the US, we are also pursuing a number of other therapeutic indications including osteoarthritis, which can potentially be treated with the patient's own cells," commented ISCO's chief scientific officer, Ruslan Semechkin, PhD.

Despite the high prevalence of osteoarthritis, currently there is a lack of an effective treatment for this disease. ISCO developed and successfully tested a scalable system that permits the generation of functional human cartilage tissue with superior mechanical properties and, more importantly, the capacity to provide greater stability than other tissue that is currently available for the treatment of osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease characterized by progressive erosion of the articular cartilage. Although osteoarthritis can damage any joint in the body, the disorder most commonly affects joints in the hands, knees, hips and spine. The erosion of articular cartilage leads to joint pain, stiffness, and impaired mobility. According to the Arthritis foundation osteoarthritis affects over 27 million Americans with an estimated medical costs of as much as $65 billion.

About International Stem Cell Corporation

International Stem Cell Corporation is focused on the therapeutic applications of human parthenogenetic stem cells (hpSCs) and the development and commercialization of cell-based research and cosmetic products. ISCO's core technology, parthenogenesis, results in the creation of pluripotent human stem cells from unfertilized oocytes (eggs). hpSCs avoid ethical issues associated with the use or destruction of viable human embryos. ISCO scientists have created the first parthenogenetic, homozygous stem cell line that can be a source of therapeutic cells for hundreds of millions of individuals of differing genders, ages and racial background with minimal immune rejection after transplantation. hpSCs offer the potential to create the first true stem cell bank, UniStemCell™. ISCO also produces and markets specialized cells and growth media for therapeutic research worldwide through its subsidiary Lifeline Cell Technology (www.lifelinecelltech.com), and stem cell-based skin care products through its subsidiary Lifeline Skin Care (www.lifelineskincare.com). More information is available at www.internationalstemcell.com.

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