Asahi Kasei and Bone Therapeutics SA have signed a license agreement under which Bone Therapeutics grants Asahi Kasei exclusive rights to develop and commercialize the PREOB® bone cell therapy product in Japan with an option to negotiate an exclusive license for development and commercialization of PREOB® in Korea, China, and Taiwan.

PREOB® is a cell-based medicinal product derived from autologous (derived from the patient) bone marrow. The active part of the product comprises osteoblastic cells which have the ability to promote bone regeneration. Application of PREOB® in the treatment of intractable bone diseases is being investigated. PREOB® is currently being evaluated in a Phase III clinical study in the treatment of non-traumatic osteonecrosis of the hip* in Europe.

For the clinical development of PREOB® in Japan, Asahi Kasei will introduce technology from Bone Therapeutics for the expansion and differentiation of stem cells into bone-forming cells. Asahi Kasei looks forward to leveraging this bone cell therapy technology to enhance its platform in the area of orthopedics.

About Bone Therapeutics

Established in Belgium in 2006, Bone Therapeutics develops cell therapy in the area of orthopedics and bone diseases. Bone Therapeutics currently has two products in its development pipeline: PREOB® bone cell therapy product derived from the patients’ own bone marrow, and ALLOB® bone cell therapy product derived from bone marrow from healthy donors. Further information is available at www.bonetherapeutics.com.