EHSI to sign definitive agreement with OceanBASIS

Mar 11 2011

Emerging Healthcare Solutions, Inc. (PinkSheets:EHSI) announced today that it is moving forward with negotiations toward a profit participation agreement with OceanBASIS, a German company specializing in stem-cell and marine-collagen technologies and products.

EHSI President and CEO Cindy Morrissey said Wednesday that the company presented OceanBASIS with a term sheet that will serve as the foundation of the PPA negotiations. EHSI entered into an option agreement with OceanBASIS in January.

"We've completed our due diligence and concluded that OceanBASIS is a solid company producing groundbreaking stem cell health products," Morrissey said. "We hope to sign a definitive agreement with OceanBASIS very soon and anticipate that it will be a profitable investment."

OceanBASIS is a Kiel, Germany-based company dedicated to developing and marketing sustainably derived marine natural products for the health and cosmetic industries. The company's top products under development utilize marine collagen, which is a pluripotent cell grouping harvested from jellyfish. Marine collagen is open to manipulation for specific purposes in much the same way that stem cells are.

Morrissey said that EHSI is particularly interested in a procedure under development by OceanBASIS to implant marine collagen scaffolds into cartilage-depleted joints before microfracture surgery. Once the collagen scaffold has been inserted, blood rich with stem cells is expected to flow from the microfractured bone into the scaffold matrix and attach to collagen fibrils. There, the stem cells should differentiate into cartilage-producing chondrocytes. OceanBASIS expects these new chondrocytes to create hyaline cartilage within the joint, leaving patients with significantly decreased pain and improved mobility in a few short weeks. The innovative procedure eliminates a step from the current two-step surgery option and can be covered by insurance.

To make the collagen scaffold procedure a reality, OceanBASIS must conduct clinical trials requiring adult stem cells. If an agreement is reached, EHSI's NASA-developed bioreactor could supply OceanBASIS with the stem cells needed to conduct those trials and other research.

The burgeoning relationship between Emerging Healthcare Solutions and OceanBASIS is a result of EHSI's recent efforts to expand its global reach, including the establishment of a business office in Frankfurt, Germany, last November. EHSI invests in technology developed to compete in the stem-cell research industry alongside Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG), Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB), Smith & Nephew (NYSE: SNN) and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN).