CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwire - April 23, 2008) - Stem Cell Therapeutics Corp. ("SCT") (TSX VENTURE: SSS) is pleased to announce that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has allowed its investigational new drug application (IND) to proceed. The IND-opening study is a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled Phase IIb clinical trial of its lead program, NTx™-265, for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke. The FDA response allows initiation of the U.S Phase IIb clinical trial in acute ischemic stroke, led by the Principle Investigator of the Phase IIa 'BETAS' stroke trial, Dr. Steven C. Cramer, at the University of California, Irvine. Dr. Cramer is also the co-Lead Investigator of the Canadian Phase IIb 'REGENESIS' trial along with Dr. Michael Hill at the Foothills Hospital, University of Calgary.