NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:PSTI - News) (DAX:PJT), a bio-therapeutics company dedicated to the commercialization of non-personalized (allogeneic) cell therapy products for a variety of degenerative, ischemic and autoimmune indications, announced today that Brian H. Annex, MD has accepted an appointment to the Company’s Scientific Advisory Board.

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Dr. Annex has recently been appointed Chief of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. Dr. Annex previously served as a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Duke University School of Medicine. In addition, Dr. Annex served as Vice-Chief of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Director of Vascular Medicine, and staff cardiologist at the Durham Veterans Administration Medical Center.

Zami Aberman, Pluristem’s President and CEO said: "We are proud that Dr. Annex has accepted a position on our Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Annex is a world renowned interventional cardiologist whose outstanding expertise in vascular disease will provide synergies to the knowledge and expertise of our current board members.”

Dr. Annex received his medical degree from the Yale University School of Medicine and completed his residency in internal medicine at Tuft's-New England Medical Center in Boston. He went on to complete a fellowship in cardiology at Duke University Medical Center and an interventional cardiology fellowship at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, MI. Upon completion of his fellowships, Dr. Annex joined the faculty at Duke University.

Dr. Annex's clinical and research interests include a multidisciplinary program in angiogenesis (the growth of new blood vessels) that is focused mainly on peripheral artery disease (PAD), where blockages in arteries cause a series of clinical problems. His group is involved in a series of bench to bedside studies, which include a number of investigations on the causes of the blockages in arteries outside the heart. Included among the studies are gene or cell therapy clinical investigations to promote blood vessel growth in patients with PAD, as well as studies of exercise training, and pre-clinical models of PAD.

Dr. Annex serves as a member of the NIH Study Section on Clinical and Integrative Cardiovascular Sciences and has served as a regular reviewer for the journals Circulation, Circulation Research, the American Journal of Cardiology, the American Journal of Physiology, and the New England Journal of Medicine.

Dr. Annex joins the following esteemed members of Pluristem’s Advisory Board:

• Edwin M. Horwitz, MD, PhD – Chairman - Dr. Horwitz currently serves as the Director of Cell Therapy in the Division of Oncology / Blood & Marrow Transplantation at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
• Arnon Nagler, MD – Dr. Nagler is currently Professor of Medicine at Tel Aviv University Sackler School of Medicine.
• Jacob Michael Rowe, M.D., F.A.C.P. – Dr. Rowe is currently Dresner Professor of Hemato-oncology and Vice Dean for Clinical Appointments at the Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine of the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology and is also an Adjunct Professor at the Department of Medicine of Northwestern University, Chicago, IL.
• Ron Gonen, MD – Dr. Gonen is currently the Senior Deputy Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Director of Maternal Fetal Medicine at the Bnai-Zion Medical Center, Haifa, Israel.
• Avinoam Kadouri PhD - Dr. Kadouri is one of the leading scientists in industrial biotechnology with a worldwide reputation. He has 15 years’ experience as R&D Director and worldwide Process Development Director at Serono International.
• Abraham Treves PhD – Dr. Treves is currently the Executive Deputy of Israel’s Sheba Cancer Research Center and was the founder, President and CEO of Gamida-Cell Ltd., an Israeli biotechnology company working in the field of HSC expansion.

About Pluristem

Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. is a bio-therapeutics company dedicated to the commercialization of non-personalized (allogeneic) cell therapy products for the treatment of several severe degenerative, ischemic and autoimmune disorders. The Company is developing a pipeline of products, stored ready-to-use, that are derived from human placenta, a non-controversial, non-embryonic, adult stem cell source.

These placental mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are expanded in the Company's proprietary PluriXTM 3D bioreactor, which imitates the natural microstructure of bone marrow and does not require supplemental growth factors or other exogenous materials. Pluristem believes that the resultant PLX (PLacental eXpanded) cells are multi-potent and able to differentiate into a variety of cell types. Recent evidence also suggests their efficacy may be related to the secretion of cytokines or other potent immune modulators. Furthermore, PLX cells are immune privileged and have immunomodulatory properties, thus protecting the recipient from immunological reactions that often accompany transplantations.

Pluristem's first product in development, PLX-PAD, is intended to improve the quality of life of millions of people suffering from peripheral artery disease (PAD). The Company's products in development also include PLX-BMT, targeting the global shortfall of matched tissue for bone marrow transplantation (BMT) by improving the engraftment of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) contained in umbilical cord blood; PLX-STROKE, targeting ischemic stroke; PLX-MS, targeting Multiple Sclerosis; and PLX-IBD, targeting Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), which includes Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative Colitis.

Pluristem has offices in the USA with research and manufacturing facilities in Israel.

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Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements are based on the current expectations of the management of Pluristem only, and are subject to a number of factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. For example, when we say that Dr. Annex’s outstanding expertise in vascular disease will provide synergies to the knowledge and expertise of our current board members, we are using a forward-looking statement. The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements: changes in technology and market requirements; our technology may not be validated as we progress further and our methods may not be accepted by the scientific community; we may be unable to retain or attract key employees whose knowledge is essential to the development of our products; unforeseen scientific difficulties may develop with our process; results in the laboratory may not translate to equally good results in real surgical settings; our patents may not be sufficient; our products may harm recipients; changes in legislation; inability to timely develop and introduce new technologies, products and applications; loss of market share and pressure on pricing resulting from competition, which could cause the actual results or performance of Pluristem to differ materially from those contemplated in such forward-looking statements. Except as otherwise required by law, Pluristem undertakes no obligation to publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. For a more detailed description of the risk and uncertainties affecting Pluristem, reference is made to Pluristem's reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

For more information visit our website at www.pluristem.com, the content of which is not part of this press release.

Pluristem
William Prather RPh, MD, 303-883-4954
Sr. VP Corporate Development
bill@pluristem.com