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Bioheart, Inc. To Receive Funds From a Grant Awarded By the State of Ohio to Further Develop Adult Stem Cell Therapies

Posted on: Monday, 26 June 2006, 09:00 CDT

SUNRISE, Fla., June 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Bioheart, Inc. announced today that in conjunction with Cleveland Clinic it will receive funds from a grant awarded by the Biomedical Research and Commercialization Program (BRCP) of the State of Ohio. Bioheart will collaborate with Cleveland Clinic under the grant in order to accelerate the development of cell therapies for congestive heart failure and heart attack patients. The grant funds will support research that involves repairing damaged heart tissue by transplanting muscle stem cells that express therapeutic proteins capable of homing other stem cells within a patient's own body to the cell transplanted area. The recruited stem cells further assist in the tissue repair process and help to increase blood vessel formation. It was announced earlier this year that Bioheart licensed a series of patents from Cleveland Clinic covering this stem cell homing technology. If successful, this collaboration will also create new jobs in Ohio to support this preclinical and clinical work.

"The funds awarded by the State of Ohio will be of tremendous help in more rapidly bringing these cell technologies to the market," said Howard J. Leonhardt, Chairman and CEO of Bioheart. "As a leader in cardiovascular disease management, we will look to Cleveland Clinic to help expand the potential of these technologies for patient benefit. We look forward to strengthening our ongoing collaboration," he added.

Marc Penn, M.D., Ph.D., of the Departments of Cardiovascular Medicine and Cell Biology at Cleveland Clinic pioneered the use of stem cell homing factors, molecules that recruit stem cells to the heart, to treat heart failure and will be the principal investigator for this research. Dr. Penn has conducted large animal studies on the first potential product for which Bioheart plans to file an Investigational New Drug application with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in order to begin human clinical trials.

"Our lab has studied, identified and developed strategies for delivering several stem cell homing factors to the heart that we believe will offer a significant clinical benefit," the Clinic's Dr. Penn said. "These grant funds will help us to further develop these cell-based strategies for the treatment of acute myocardial infarction and chronic heart failure," he added.

About CCF Innovations:

Cleveland Clinic's strong commitment to discovery and innovation led to the establishment of CCF Innovations (CCFI) in 2000. As the Clinic's technology transfer and commercialization arm, CCF Innovations enhances product-oriented innovation throughout the Clinic and transforms promising therapies, devices and diagnostics into beneficial medical products, via spin- off companies, licensees and equity partnerships.

About the Cleveland Clinic:

Cleveland Clinic, located in Cleveland, Ohio, is a not-for-profit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. Cleveland Clinic was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. U.S. News & World Report consistently names Cleveland Clinic as one of the nation's best hospitals in its annual "America's Best Hospitals" survey. Approximately 1,500 full-time salaried physicians at Cleveland Clinic and Cleveland Clinic Florida represent more than 100 medical specialties and subspecialties. In 2004, patients came for treatment from every state and 100 countries. Cleveland Clinic's website address is http://www.clevelandclinic.org/ .

About Bioheart:

Bioheart, Inc. is focused on developing, testing and commercializing cell- based therapies for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, including myocardial infarction and congestive heart failure. The Company is currently enrolling patients in its European Phase II clinical trial named SEISMIC to test its lead product candidates, MyoCell(TM) and MyoCath(R). The MyoCell(TM) implantation therapy is designed to regenerate areas of damaged myocardial tissue. MyoCath(R) is a percutaneous needle injection catheter engineered to deliver cell therapy or other compounds to myocardial tissue. Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death in developed countries. There are 7.1 million heart attack patients and almost 5 million patients with congestive heart failure in the United States alone, with the direct annual costs of their treatment reaching $28 billion and $25 billion, respectively. For more information about Bioheart, please visit http://www.bioheartinc.com/ or telephone Mr. Jason Griffeth at 954-835-1500.

Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical may be "forward-looking" statements, which involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that Bioheart, Inc. will be able to commercially develop cardiovascular cell therapy or electrical stimulation products, that necessary regulatory approvals will be obtained or that any clinical trials will be successful or that the proposed treatments will prove to be safe and/or effective.

Bioheart, Inc.

CONTACT: Jason Griffeth, +1-954-835-1500, for Bioheart Inc.

Web site: http://www.bioheartinc.com/http://www.clevelandclinic.org/

Source: PRNewswire

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