Partners with University of Westminster

RNS Number : 8590K

WideCells Group PLC

27 September 2016

 

27 September 2016

WideCells Group PLC ('WideCells Group' or 'the Group' or 'the Company')

Partners with the University of Westminster to Deliver Online Courses in Stem Cell Technology

WideCells Group PLC, the healthcare services company focused on collecting and storing stem cells and providing ground breaking insurance for stem cell treatment, is pleased to announce that its R&D and training development division, WideAcademy, has finalised its syllabus of short courses focused on educating healthcare professionals on the benefits of stem cell storage and treatment.  This will provide the Company with a new revenue stream, on commencement of the courses.

The ten short courses are currently being developed alongside the University of Westminster and are anticipated to drive uptake of the Group's stem cell storage and healthcare services.  Jointly overseen by WideCells Group's Chief Scientific Officer and Dean of WideAcademy, Dr. Peter Hollands, Dr. Emanuela Volpi, Reader in Biomedical Science and Dr. John Murphy, Head of Biomedical Science, both from the University of Westminster, the courses will be delivered by a team of healthcare professionals with a high level of expertise in the field.  The collaboration between these parties will ensure the quality of WideAcademy's educational materials as well academic peer review of course content.  The Company anticipates that the first course will commence in early 2017 with the launch of the rest to be staggered over the next 24 months.

In conjunction with this, and in line with its strategy to provide excellence in stem cell education and training, WideAcademy is in the process of developing a conference programme for healthcare and medical professionals.  WideAcademy will update the market with further details on the conference, anticipated to be held in Brazil in 2017, once a programme has been finalised.  South America's cord blood banking services market has experienced exciting growth in recent years, prompting the Company's decision to deliver an event in this market.   

WideCells Group CEO, João Andrade, said, "Our stated strategy is to make stem cell treatment affordable and accessible for families worldwide and in turn to fuel innovation and investment into the stem cell industry; we believe that the launch of these short courses will achieve both these goals while also providing the added commercial benefit of increasing uptake of our storage and healthcare services.   We look forward to opening up registration to participants.

"Our CSO Peter Hollands has an almost unrivalled knowledge of stem cell applications and we are proud to have him on our team.  He is passionate about bridging the knowledge gap amongst the healthcare community regarding the rapid advancements in this innovative area of medicine and together with the University of Westminster, a well-respected academic institution, we are ideally positioned to deliver this.  We look forward to providing updates regarding the course and our conference in the coming months."

**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:  [phone]
Vicarage Capital Ltd	Broker - Jeremy Woodgate & Rupert Williams	Tel: [phone]
Shard Capital Partners LLP	Broker - Damon Heath & Erik Woolgar	Tel: [phone]
St Brides Partners Ltd	PR - Elisabeth Cowell & Charlotte Heap	Tel: [phone]

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 £thousand, 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).

 

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