Iconic Labs Regulatory News (ICON)

27 February 2018

WideCells Group PLC ("WideCells Group" or the "Group")

Licence Award from the Human Tissue Authority

WideCells Group PLC, the healthcare services company focused on providing stem cell services and ground-breaking insurance for stem cell treatment, is pleased to announce that the UK's Human Tissue Authority ("HTA") has awarded its 100% owned subsidiary, WideCells Ltd, a Human Application Licence. This licence permits WideCells Ltd to import, export, process, store and distribute for treatment, umbilical cord blood and umbilical cord tissue from the UK and Europe in its state of the art facilities at the Institute of Stem Cell Technology in Manchester, UK.

This transformational milestone licence enables the Group, under its brand name BabyCells, to offer umbilical cord blood and tissue storage services to clients in the UK and Europe. BabyCells will be charged at a cost of circa £2,000 per sample for one year's storage (including collection and processing), with recurring storage revenues of £50-£75 per annum thereafter and alternative multi-year pre-paid storage plans. Clients of BabyCells will be offered one year's stem cell insurance cover, provided by the Group's CellPlan division.

WideCells Group CEO, João Andrade, said, "The granting of this licence from the HTA marks a significant step in the Group's end-to-end stem cell service solution. WideCells Group can now store and process umbilical cord blood and tissue, provide financial cover and support for associated treatment through our innovative CellPlan insurance product, and support development and medical advancement within the industry through both our research work, and our education and training division Wideacademy. This licence enables us to leverage further our significant industry contacts and market presence to position our state of the art facility in Manchester as a leading stem cell storage bank. The Group is now positioned to focus on revenue generation from all three of our divisions."

For further information, please visit the Group's website www.widecellsgroup.com, follow us on Twitter @WideCells_Group or contact:

Further Information

Following its HTA Research Licence granted in July 2017, WideCells Ltd has now been granted a Human Application Licence, number 22665, to import, export, process, store and distribute for treatment umbilical cord blood and umbilical cord tissue within the UK and within other EU member states. Accordingly, the Group is now able to launch its BabyCells service, which offers umbilical cord blood and tissue storage, including processing and distribution for treatment. 

To support roll-out, WideCells will actively look for agents, initially focussing on Europe, to promote its stem cell storage services. Widecells will provide agents with services including marketing, training, custom designed collection devices, software maintenance and technical support. Additionally, WideCells offers agents the added benefits of support from CellPlan and Wideacademy; Wideacademy will provide educational and training services to agents and raise awareness of the potential benefits of stem cell treatment to potential storage clients whilst CellPlan will provide financial cover to ensure stem cell treatment is accessible and affordable.

Going forward, WideCells intends to add additional stem cell services such as dental pulp processing and storage (TeethCells) and Adipose tissue collection, processing and storage (LipoCells) to increase the Group's stem cell storage product offering.

Notes to Editors

WideCells Group PLC

WideCells Group PLC has built an integrated stem cell services company, focused on making stem cell treatments accessible and affordable. This is achieved through three divisions:

· CellPlan: the world's first stem cell healthcare insurance plan with financial cover for medical treatment, travel and accommodation expenses and concierge service to manage the treatment process.

· WideCells: The Institute of Stem Cell Technology has been established and is based in the University of Manchester Innovation Centre to focus on stem cell research and regenerative medicine. WideCells also has international cryogenics divisions specialising in stem cell storage.

· Wideacademy: an education and training division to promote awareness of the benefits of stem cell storage across the global general practice community.

The Group has built an experienced senior management team that has been integral to the development of its growth and business to date.

Stem Cell Fast Facts:

· Cord blood (which is taken from the umbilical cord) provides the most effective source of stem cells for potentially life-saving future treatment for families. It is simple, safe and painless to collect relative to other sources of stem cells such as bone marrow - WideCells will continue to focus on promoting the collection and storage of cord blood.

· Since 2005, there has been a 300% increase in the number of illnesses that can be treated using stem cells.

· 82 illnesses can currently be treated using stem cell procedures.

· Despite initial storage often costing no more than a few thousand pounds, actual treatment can cost in the hundreds of thousands.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 (MAR).