Licensing Agreement

Stem Cell Sciences plc
15 November 2005


For immediate release


     Stem Cell Sciences Advances Towards Its First Cell Therapy Program for
                              Degenerative Disease
                                        

Edinburgh, UK and Kobe, Japan and Melbourne, Australia, 15th November, 2005 - Stem
Cell Sciences plc (AIM: STEM), the global stem cell company, today announced
that Stem Cell Sciences KK (SCS KK), an affiliated company of Stem Cell Sciences
plc (SCS plc) in Japan, has signed a worldwide exclusive license agreement with
The Universite de Nice Sophia-Antipolis, France (University of Nice), to 
commercialise human multipotent adipose-derived stem cells (hMADS) and
technologies which will form the basis for a cell therapy programme focused on
degenerative diseases including Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD).

Under this agreement, SCS KK and affiliated companies of the SCS group will
obtain exclusive rights to the use of patents and expertise relating to the
hMADS technology in the field of cell therapies. The agreement was brokered by
France Innovation Scientifique et Transfert SA (FIST SA) on behalf of The
University of Nice who will receive an upfront fee, annual milestones payments
and royalties. Further financial details were not disclosed.

The hMADS cells are human multipotent stem cells obtained from the subcutaneous
fat or adipose tissue of young donors. These stem cells are able to produce many
different types of cells including cardiac, vascular, muscle, bone, adipose
cells and cartilage in the laboratory.

In research to date, these cells have been transplanted into a mouse model of
DMD and were not rejected in the absence of immunosuppressive treatment. In
addition, considerable and long-term human dystrophin expression resulted. These
results are highly encouraging as they highlight the potential of these cells in
cell-based therapies (allo-transplantation) for patients suffering from DMD. The
hMADS cells will form the basis of SCS KK's cell therapy programme in
degenerative neuromuscular disease - the first cell therapy program of the SCS
group.

"We are delighted to have obtained the hMADS technology that will allow the
supply of cells for cell-based regenerative therapies from a renewable,
laboratory grown resource. These renewable hMADS cells will form the basis for
our pre-clinical program due to commence in 2006 in Muscular Dystrophy and
Arteriosclerosis. We look forward to working together with SCS plc to accelerate
commercialisation of the hMADS development program," stated Mr. Kenzo Nakajima,
President and CEO of SCS KK.

"The initiation of this first cell therapy program marks a significant milestone
in our business. Our partners at SCS KK are exceptionally well positioned to
pursue this exciting opportunity on behalf of the SCS group given their location
and interaction within The Kobe Frontier Medical Precinct. This outstanding
biomedical precinct provides access to state of the art infra-structure and
clinical expertise needed to progress the opportunity in an urgent area of unmet
medical need," commented Dr Peter Mountford, President and CEO of SCS plc.

                                    - Ends -

Notes to Editors:

About Stem Cells

Stem Cells are undifferentiated (unspecialised) cells that can divide to make
copies of themselves or differentiate (change) to become specialized cells of a
specific tissue such as muscle, nerve cells or blood.

About hMADS

hMADS are stem cells derived from the fat tissue of young children. The tissue
sample from which hMADS are derived may arise as a consequence of an unrelated
surgical procedure or tissue biopsy. hMADS have been shown to integrate into the
muscle of mice and to produce significant levels of the protein that is
defective in patients that suffer DMD.

The hMADS cells licensed from the University of Nice were discovered by Dr.
Christian Dani, INSERM Director and Head of the Stem Cells and Differentiation
laboratory and Professor Gerard Ailhaud, Head of the Adipose Tissue Development
laboratory, both working at the Institute of Signaling, Biology of Development
and Cancer in France.

About Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD)

DMD affects approximately 1 in every 3,500 boys and is the most the most
frequent, lethal, inheritable childhood disease. DMD has an estimated potential
market of approximately US$3 billion and is the most common form of a family of
more than 20 muscle-wasting diseases.

About Stem Cell Sciences plc

Stem Cell Sciences (SCS plc) is a global biotechnology company established in
Melbourne in 1994 to undertake development and commercialization of stem cell
technologies. SCS plc, a major shareholder in SCS KK, is headquartered in
Edinburgh, UK and has an additional wholly owned R&D subsidiary in Melbourne,
Australia. SCS plc is expanding operations in 2006 to Cambridge, U.K. and the
United States. The new U.K. site in Cambridge will focus on automation of
cell-based drug discovery assays for the pharmaceutical industry. The U.S.
expansion will initially be based on licensing opportunities of key SCS
technologies, including Stem Cell Selection and novel Neural Stem cells. Stem
Cell Sciences listed on the London AIM exchange on 18 July 2005.

About Stem Cell Science KK

Stem Cell Sciences KK (SCS KK), a joint venture between SCS plc and Sosei, is a
biotechnology company focused on generating cell-based regenerative therapies.
The Company is currently developing stem cell technologies for cell therapies
utilizing various intellectual properties obtained from its affiliated company,
SCS plc, in the UK. Such technology development includes collaborative research
with Riken Centre for Developmental Biology (CDB), Tissue Engineering Research
Center at National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
(Kobe) and participation in the research project titled "Collaboration of
Regional Entities for the Advancement of Technological Excellence" supported by
the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. For
further information about SCS KK, please visit www.scskk.com.

About France Innovation Scientifique et Transfert SA

France Innovation Scientifique et Transfert SA (FIST SA), is charge of patent
management and technology transfer for various French academic research
institutes especially the CNRS.  Since it was founded in 1992, FIST SA has 
negotiated more than 700 technology transfer agreements, and evaluated more than
2500 invention disclosures. The Company currently employs a team of 35 people 
and is based in Paris, France.

Contact for Stem Cell Sciences plc: 
Hugh Ilyine, Vice President and COO
Phone: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]

Contact for Stem Cell Sciences KK:
Masao NOGUCHI
Phone: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]

Weber Shandwick / Square Mile
Yvonne Alexander - PR
Phone: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

Contact for FIST:
Dale Roche 
Email: [e-mail]


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