NuGene International Appoints John Ohanesian As Chief Strategic Advisor, Hair

IRVINE, CA--(Marketwired - February 14, 2017) - NuGene International, Inc. (“NuGene”) (OTCQB: NUGN), a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of advanced skin and hair care lines utilizing human adipose derived stem cell conditioned media, today announced that it has appointed John Ohanesian as Chief Strategic Advisor, Hair. This is a new position at NuGene and Mr. Ohanesian’s appointment is effective immediately.

Mr. Ohanesian will provide strategic focus for NuGene and its new hair restoration subsidiary, Revellus, Inc., which recently launched its initial hair restoration product under the Revellus Hair™ brand. He will be responsible for the commercial expansion and execution of NuGene’s strategic plan for its hair care product line and for leadership of the division’s marketing, sales and distribution, and overall strategy.

“We are thrilled to welcome John Ohanesian, a highly-regarded leader of the hair restoration industry, to NuGene,” said Steve Carlson, CEO of NuGene International. “John’s proven leadership and experience in all facets of the business -- from research and development through commercialization and market expansion -- is expected to highly benefit the growth and expansion of our hair restoration business with both Revellus Hair™ and kathy ireland® Worldwide (“kiWW”) branded products. The combination of John’s expertise, NuGene’s new product formulations and kiWW’s creative and organizational strength, all of which leverage our proprietary stem cell-based growth factor technology, is powerful, and we look forward to John’s contributions to its growth.”

“The demonstrated effectiveness of NuGene’s unique stem cell-based growth factor technology in combatting the effects of aging on the hair and skin attracted me to the company,” said John Ohanesian. “I’ve spent my entire professional life in the hair restoration industry and I believe that the science and commercial opportunities supporting Revellus Hair™ and the kiWW product line is more than compelling. I’m excited to accept this opportunity to lead it to its full potential.”

Mr. Ohanesian is a true icon in the hair restoration market, having led the transformation of Bosley, Inc. from a small private business into the worldwide leading brand in hair restoration. During his 20 years as CEO of Bosley, Mr. Ohanesian was responsible for growing the brand to over 90 markets, leading expansion into international territories including Canada, Mexico, and Japan. It was also his creative genius which grew the Bosley line of hair care products into 35,000 salons across North America. Never one to rest on past success, Mr. Ohanesian continued to evolve the Bosley business model to adapt to a changing economy, consumer preferences, and new technology. While at Bosley, he established the Aderans Research Institute, Inc., the research and development arm of Bosley. Focusing on follicular regenerative medicine, Aderans deployed a team of scientists, engineers, and administrators to oversee pre-clinical trials (Phase I and Phase II FDA clinical trials) that resulted in two critical approvals.

For the last 6 years Mr. Ohanesian has served as CEO of Cosmedica, LLC, which he founded to promote and market products in the direct-to-consumer, advertising-driven, appointment-based retail medicine space with a particular focus on aesthetics, beauty, and wellness industries. Mr. Ohanesian also currently serves as the Chief Strategic Officer of Theradome, Inc., a medical device company located in Silicon Valley, focused on laser-based hair restoration therapies. Its signature product, the LH 80PRO, is the only clinical grade FDA-cleared women’s over-the-counter device for individual use.

Mr. Ohanesian is a graduate of Sonoma State University; he also earned a Master of Arts, Health Administration, from California State University, Long Beach. As an active member of the philanthropic community, Mr. Ohanesian notably served as the Administrator, Olympic Health Services, for the 1984 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles, CA. More recently, Mr. Ohanesian has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Beckman Institute; City of Hope; and The Archer School for Girls in Brentwood (Los Angeles), Ca.

REVELLUS™ and Nugene’s kathy ireland Worldwide™ branded products are all free of fragrances, color additives, parabens, sulfates, propylene glycol, and phthalates, and are not tested on animals.

About NuGene International, Inc.

NuGene International, Inc. develops and markets a diverse line of proprietary stem cell based regenerative “cosmeceutical” products, all resulting from well accepted, adult human stem cell derived conditioned media obtained through NuGene’s patent pending adipose derived stem cell culture process. All of NuGene’s products combine its in-house advancements, proprietary, and patent pending technologies and formulations. Through its licensing relationship with kathy ireland Worldwide, NuGene markets a direct to consumer line branded under the Kathy Ireland name. NuGene also markets a high-end professional line of its products through professional channels such as dermatologists, plastic surgeons, medical offices, and day and resort spas, in addition to a regenerative hair product under the name Revellus™. NuGene’s research and formulation for biopharma products for wound healing and burn treatment is ongoing with a view to commercialization. With multiple patents pending and proprietary formulas, processes, and applications, NuGene’s goal is to become the industry leader for age defying skincare and hair care products, in addition to pharmaceutical products based on the same regenerative stem cell technology platform. For more information on NuGene and its stem cell based product lines, visit www.NuGene.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which are intended to be covered by the “safe harbor” created by those sections. All statements in this release that are not based on historical fact are “forward looking statements.” These statements may be identified by words such as “estimates,” “anticipates,” “projects,” “plans,” “proposes” or “planned,” “seeks,” “may,” “will,” “expects,” “intends,” “believes,” “should,” “would,” “could” and similar expressions or the negative versions thereof and which also may be identified by their context, such as references to “products under development”. All statements that address operating performance or events or developments that NuGene expects or anticipates will occur in the future are forward-looking statements. While management has based any forward looking statements included in this release on its current expectations, we operate in a complex and changing domestic and international competitive environment where new and unanticipated risks may arise, and consequently the information on which such expectations were based, such as expectations of distributor product placements and sales, timing of planned and anticipated product deliveries or product introductions, may change. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. More information on potential factors that could affect NuGene’s financial results is included from time to time in NuGene’s filings and reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the risks identified under the section captioned “Risk Factors” in its quarterly report on Form 10-Q as filed on November 21, 2016. We urge you to consider those risks and uncertainties in evaluating our forward-looking statements. We caution readers not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Except as otherwise required by the federal securities laws, we disclaim any obligation or undertaking to publicly release any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained herein (or elsewhere) to reflect any change in our expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.