Aldagen, Inc. Announces Strategic Management Changes

DURHAM, NC--(Marketwire - February 23, 2010) - Aldagen, Inc. today announced strategic management changes to better position the company as it advances clinical development of its product pipeline. Effective immediately, Richard Kent, M.D. will join Aldagen's Board of Directors and will become Chairman of the Board. Dr. Kent is a venture partner at Intersouth Partners, and has 27 years of experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Aldagen also announced the appointment of James M. Hinson, Jr., M.D. as Chief Medical Officer.

Moving forward, Tom Amick will serve as Aldagen's Chief Executive Officer and President, and Edward L. Field will become Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer.

Prior to joining Intersouth in 2008, Dr. Kent served as President and CEO of Serenex, Inc., and as CEO of Ardent Pharmaceuticals. At Serenex, he managed and grew the company from an early-stage drug discovery company, ultimately directing the company's acquisition by Pfizer. He served as Senior Vice President, Global Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer for GlaxoSmithKline, and held other senior positions within GlaxoWellcome and Burroughs Wellcome. Dr. Kent received his medical degree from the University of California, San Diego, and received medical training at Harvard, Stanford and Duke. He was a member of the Duke faculty, and is board certified in internal medicine and cardiology. Over his career, Dr. Kent has been involved in numerous investigational new drugs and more than 20 successful new drug applications.

Dr. Hinson is the owner and principal of Unicorn Pharma Consulting, a pharmaceutical development consulting firm, since 2000. In this role, he provided consultation to large and small pharmaceutical companies, clinical research organizations and biotechnology organizations in clinical trial construction and management, data analysis, clinical development plans and interactions with financial and regulatory authorities, including serving on data safety monitoring boards. Dr. Hinson previously held senior drug development positions at Ardent Pharmaceuticals, Alliance Pharmaceuticals, Rhone-Poulenc Rorer and Burroughs Wellcome. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia and his M.D. degree from the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Dr. Hinson is board certified in internal medicine, pulmonary medicine and critical care medicine.

About Aldagen, Inc.
Aldagen is a biopharmaceutical company developing proprietary regenerative cell therapies that target significant unmet medical needs. The company has completed a Phase 1 / 2 clinical trial of ALD-301 for the treatment of critical limb ischemia and has received a special protocol assessment, or SPA, from the FDA for the design of a phase 3 trial in critical limb ischemia. Aldagen has also completed a Phase 1 clinical trial of ALD-201 for the treatment of ischemic heart failure. Aldagen is developing additional product candidates based on the company's proprietary technology for isolating adult stem cells that express high levels of ALDH, including product candidates to improve engraftment following cord blood transplants used to treat leukemias, for the treatment of inherited metabolic diseases and for the post-acute treatment of ischemic stroke.