Histogenics Corporation Appoints Scientific Advisory Board Comprised of Regenerative Medicine Leaders

WALTHAM, Mass. – October 12, 2011 – Histogenics Corporation, a privately held regenerative medicine company, today announced the formation of its Scientific Advisory Board. Histogenics is advancing NeoCartÒ, an autologous bioengineered neocartilage grown outside the body using the patient’s own cells for the regeneration of cartilage lesions, and VeriCart™, a three-dimensional cartilage matrix to stimulate cartilage repair in a simple, one-step procedure.

“This advisory board represents some of the most prolific researchers, publishers and innovators in regenerative medicine with an extensive range of expertise in cartilage and soft-tissue repair, biomaterial scaffolds, fibroblast growth factor variants and stem cell research,” said Patrick O’Donnell, President and Chief Executive Officer of Histogenics. “Each member will play a critical role in guiding our research and product development pipeline initiatives, including our next generation NeoCart On-DemandÔ single step cartilage tissue implant, as we continue to build Histogenics’ leadership position in articular cartilage and soft tissue regeneration.”

The members of the Scientific Advisory Board are:

- Kyriacos A. Athanasiou, Ph.D., P.E., Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Orthopaedic Surgery and Chair, Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of California, whose research focuses on understanding and enhancing the healing processes of cartilage using scaffold-less or scaffold-based approaches in combination with suitable bioactive agents and biomechanical signals

- Bruno Peault, Ph.D. -- Professor and Chair, Center for Cardiovascular Science at the University of Edinburgh and Queen’s Medical Research Institute; Professor, David Geffen School of Medicine and Orthopaedic Hospital Research Center at University of California at Los Angeles, whose research focuses on prospective identification, purification and functional characterization of multi-lineage stem cells present in human adult organs and tissues

- R. Lane Smith, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Stanford University, whose research focuses on understanding the fundamental biological and mechanical mechanisms influencing the differentiation, homeostasis and pathogenesis of bone, cartilage and dense connective tissues

- Chia Soo, M.D., Associate Professor, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at University of California at Los Angeles, whose research focuses on bone and cartilage tissue engineering, stem cell-based approaches to regenerative medicine, and skin regeneration

- Laurence Tarrant, Ph.D., Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Histogenics Corporation, with significant expertise in commercializing medical technologies and an innovator of three-dimensional scaffold technologies, the production of extracellular matrices and the use of hydrostatic pressure in the production of neocartilage tissue

- Avner Yayon, M.D., Ph.D., Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of ProChon Biotech, Ltd.; Founder and Chief Executive Officer of ProCore, Ltd, whose research focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying FGF-related genetic and acquired skeletal disorders and led to the development of the advanced cartilage regeneration implant, BioCart™II

About Histogenics

Histogenics is a leading regenerative medicine company that combines cell therapy and tissue engineering technologies to develop highly innovative products for tissue repair and regeneration. In May of 2011, Histogenics acquired Israeli cell-therapy company Prochon BioTech. Histogenics’ flagship products focus on the treatment of active patients suffering from articular cartilage derived pain and immobility. The Company takes an interdisciplinary approach to engineering neocartilage that looks, acts and lasts like hyaline cartilage. It is developing new treatments for sports injuries and other orthopaedic conditions, where demand is growing for long-term alternatives to joint replacement. Histogenics has successfully completed Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials of its NeoCart autologous tissue implant and is currently in a Phase 3 IND clinical study. Based in Waltham, Massachusetts, the company is privately held. For more information, visit www.histogenics.com.

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MacDougall Biomedical Communications

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