WORCESTER, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. (Advanced Cell, ACT) (OTC: ACTC) and a leading Korea-based stem cell company, CHA Bio & Diostech Co., Ltd. (CHA Bio), formerly CHA Biotech, Co., Ltd., announced today that the parties have entered into a licensing agreement under which Advanced Cell will license its retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) technology, for the treatment of diseases of the eye, to CHA Bio for development and commercialization exclusively in Korea. ACT is eligible to receive up to a total of $1.9 million in fees based upon the parties achieving certain milestones, including ACT making an IND submission to the US FDA to commence clinical trials in humans using the technology, which ACT currently plans to do during the second half of 2009. The Company received an up-front fee under the license and expects to receive the balance of the fees over the next 12 months. Under the terms of the agreement, CHA Bio will incur all of the cost associated with RPE clinical trials in Korea. The arrangement is a part of continuing cooperation and collaboration between the two companies, including a recent Joint Venture between the two companies regarding hemangioblast technology.
