Proneuron Biotechnologies, Inc.'s ProCord Granted European Patent

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 23, 2005-- ProCord is an experimental procedure for the treatment of complete spinal cord injury now being studied in an international Phase II trial Proneuron Biotechnologies (www.proneuron.com) announced today the grant of the European patent for ProCord (autologous incubated macrophages) for the treatment of acute spinal cord injury by the European Patent Office. European Patent number EP 0952772 B1, dated 16 March 2005, for the use of, mononuclear phagocytes to promote axonal regeneration, was granted to Yeda Research and Development Co. Ltd. from which Proneuron Biotechnologies has an exclusive license. The main inventor is Proneuron Scientific Founder Professor Michal Schwartz of the Weizmann Institute of Science. ProCord was previously patented in the U.S. under US 5,800,812, dated 1 September 1998, US 6,117,424, dated 12 September 2000 and US 6,267,955, dated 31 July 2001, and received an orphan drug designation by the FDA in September 2004.