WideCells Group PLC LOI with 1st Cord Blood Bank to Roll Out CellPlan (4299O)
November 07 2016 - 2:00AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMWDC
RNS Number : 4299O
WideCells Group PLC
07 November 2016
7 November 2016
WideCells Group PLC ('WideCells Group' or 'the Company')
Signs LOI with First Cord Blood Bank to Roll Out CellPlan
WideCells Group PLC, the healthcare services company focused on
providing stem cell banking services and ground breaking insurance
for stem cell treatment, is pleased to announce that its 100% owned
subsidiary CellPlan Limited ('CellPlan'), which has developed the
world's first stem cell healthcare insurance plan and medical
concierge service, has signed a non-binding Letter of Intent
('LOI') with Biovault Technical Ltd ('Biovault'), the UK's largest
private human tissue storage facility, which also operates a family
stem cell processing facility. CellPlan will offer its
revolutionary stem cell healthcare insurance plan and services to
Biovault's expansive client base, whereby its insurance plan will
cover the cost of treatment using stem cells stored by Biovault and
its affiliates. When completed, this will deliver a new revenue
stream to the Company and will be a landmark development in the
commercialisation of CellPlan.
The two parties are currently finalising market-roll out plans
and hope to sign a definitive, binding agreement (the 'Definitive
Agreement') by the end of this year, subject to due diligence and
final management approval. Commercial roll out and sales of
CellPlan to Biovault customers is currently targeted to commence
early 2017.
As envisaged in the LOI, the Definitive Agreement is intended to
cover an initial five year term, during which CellPlan would
provide Biovault's register of over 25,000 clients with access to
its insurance product, which has been developed in conjunction with
Best Doctorsâ, a global leader in expert medical opinion, and
underwritten by a leading reinsurance company. The innovative
insurance plan provides customers with access to international stem
cell specialists, hospitals and financial cover for up to EUR1
million worth of medical, travel and accommodation expenses, in
line with its strategy to make access to potentially lifesaving
stem cell treatments more affordable. On completion, BioVault would
become a member of CellPlan's Excel Membership Programme, meaning
it would adhere to CellPlan's stringent quality standards in order
to maintain operating excellence within the stem cell industry. The
Company will announce further details of the Definitive Agreement
in due course.
WideCells Group CEO, João Andrade, said, "This is
transformational for CellPlan. Since launching in May 2016, the
effective roll out of CellPlan has been central to our strategy to
make life-saving stem cell treatments more affordable and
ultimately accessible for all. The signing of the letter of intent
with Biovault, the UK's pre-eminent cord blood bank, is a first
step in the provision of an unrivalled platform from which to
achieve this. Biovault has a reputation for excellence in the UK's
stem cell storage industry and we are delighted to be working with
them as we continue to develop CellPlan into the foremost stem cell
healthcare insurance plan.
"Having recently secured a number of key team members to work
alongside our bolstered Board, our focus over the coming months
will be to formalise the agreement with Biovault with a view to
rolling out CellPlan in early 2017. We continue to seek further
partnerships that will enable us to maintain the momentum we have
gained since the plan launched earlier this year, as we look
forward to the future."
Biovault CEO, Kate Sneddon, said, "We are excited to be able to
work with Cellplan in pioneering this approach to make stem cell
treatment more accessible and affordable. Through our work
supporting clinical transplant services in the UK we have
first-hand experience of the complexity of these treatments and the
specialist care required. We feel offering Cellplan insurance to
our customers is a great way to increase the awareness and use of
stem cell treatments."
**ENDS**
For further information, please visit the Company's website
www.widecellsgroup.com, follow us on Twitter @WideCells_Group or
contact:
WideCells Group CEO - João Andrade Tel: +351 919
033 171
------------------- ------------------------- --------------
Vicarage Capital Broker - Jeremy Woodgate Tel: +44 (0)
Ltd & Rupert Williams 20 3651 2912
------------------- ------------------------- --------------
Shard Capital Broker - Damon Heath Tel: +44 (0)
Partners LLP & Erik Woolgar 207 186 9950
------------------- ------------------------- --------------
St Brides Partners PR - Elisabeth Cowell Tel: +44 (0)
Ltd & Charlotte Page 20 7236 1177
------------------- ------------------------- --------------
Notes to Editors
WideCells Group PLC is building an integrated stem cell services
company, focused on making stem cell treatments accessible and
affordable. The Directors believe that the use of cord blood stem
cells for transplant will drive one of the next important phases in
medicine and is therefore developing market leading products in
complementary, strategic areas which are designed to take advantage
of substantial market opportunities in one of the fastest growing
segments in the healthcare industry. With this in mind, it has
created 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: a portfolio of best in class stem cell processing
and cord blood storage facilities with an existing presence in UK
and Brazil
-- WideAcademy: developing 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 families due to it
being simple, safe and painless to collect relative to other
sources of stem cells such as bone marrow - WideCells will focus on
promoting the collection and storage of this.
-- 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
GBPthousand, actual treatment can cost in the GBPhundreds of
thousands
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes
of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014
(MAR).
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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November 07, 2016 02:00 ET (07:00 GMT)
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