CellzDirect, Inc. Raises $3.4 Million in Private Financing; Company's Cell Resources and Technologies Will Accelerate Scientific Discovery.

Business/Technology Editors

BIOWIRE2K

TUCSON, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 5, 2002

CellzDirect Inc., a privately held cell bioscience company, today announced the completion of a private placement financing of $3.4 million. Led by an investment from Solstice Capital, the Company was able to achieve its first institutional round of investment with a strong group of co-investors including Technology Funding, Tucson Ventures, Village Ventures and the Desert Angels. The funds will be used to commercialize the Company's cell products and support the sales and marketing efforts to create a global identity.

"As scientists investigate new fields of disease research, there is a growing bottleneck in the supply of normal and diseased cells for their studies. Traditional cellular models and methods are no longer sufficient to accurately evaluate such a large number of genetically different diseases. CellzDirect was established to provide scientists with these necessary cells that are not readily available today, in order to accelerate discovery and fight disease," stated Louis Breton, Co-founder, Chairman and EVP of Business Development for CellzDirect.

"The current cell market is exploding with over 150,000 scientists a year placing a total of $1 billion worth of cell orders. And given that every pharmaceutical product has to pass rigorous cell testing in order to be accepted by the FDA for human consumption, CellzDirect is well positioned to capitalize on this enormous product potential," according to Marc Griesenbrock, Co-founder and Director of Operations of CellzDirect.

Scott Edelman, CEO of CellzDirect, stated, "CellzDirect's entry into the cell market will include providing the research community with liver hepatocyte cells used for drug metabolism and induction studies, pancreatic islet cells which are used for diabetes research, and umbilical stem cells used for tissue engineering, neurological disorders and cancer research. CellzDirect's umbilical stem cells, not involving human embryos, have emerged as an attractive alternative source for scientific research and clinical applications," Mr. Edelman continued.

Harry George, President of Solstice Capital Management Company, said, "Solstice is very pleased to be an investor in CellzDirect. We like the experienced management team and the rapidly growing market-- more and more drug discovery research is being done at the cell level. There is room for a new entrant in this dynamic market, and we think CellzDirect can be a winner."

Charles Kokesh, Principal of Technology Funding, said, "The level of talent that the CellzDirect team has attracted is very impressive. We are pleased to participate in a venture that will do well by doing good."

Larry Aldrich, Managing Director of Tucson Ventures, stated: "CellzDirect is a special company with a very strong potential to succeed in the biotechnology space. Tucson and Arizona are making a strong statement that we intend to be key players in the Age of Biology. We are very proud to be part of the CellzDirect future."

CellzDirect Inc., based in Tucson, Arizona, provides cell products to academic laboratories and the biopharmaceutical industry to accelerate drug discovery research and development. The Company's products enable scientists to bridge the gap between genetic discovery and medicine. The Company believes that its efforts will improve the success rate of drug discovery and drug safety.