23 May 2017
WideCells Group ('WideCells' or 'the Company')
Attendance at British Dental Conference and Exhibition
WideCells Group PLC ('WideCells' or the 'Company'), the healthcare services company focused on providing stem cell services and ground breaking insurance for stem cell treatment, is pleased to announce that Non-Executive Director Dr. Marilyn Orcharton will be representing the Company at the upcoming British Dental Conference and Exhibition, being held in Manchester from 25-27 May 2017. At the conference, Dr. Orcharton will be providing information on the Company's plans to extend its stem cell storage services to include dental pulp storage and processing (TeethCells). The Company hopes to start offering this new service to the market in the coming months and, having recognised significant growth opportunities within the dental industry, intends to appoint a Dental Key Account Manager to manage this emerging revenue stream including potential strategic relationships with distribution partners in Europe and the Middle-East.
Dr. Orcharton is a renowned figure in dentistry, having co-founded Denplan Limited in 1986, which is still the UK's market leader in dental insurance, with a multi-million-pound annual turnover. WideCells is looking to achieve similar success in the stem cell industry via its CellPlan division, which is rolling out the world's first stem cell healthcare insurance plan.
The Company is also developing its WideCells division and is on track to launch its second stem cell storage and contract research facility, the Institute of Stem Cell Technology, located in the University of Manchester Innovation Centre in Q2 2017 ('the ISCT'). The ISCT will initially offer umbilical cord progressing and storage (BabyCells), like its existing facility in São Paulo, Brazil. However, looking ahead it also plans to obtain a license from the HTA ('Human Tissue Authority') to offer dental pulp storage and processing later this year, which involves harvesting stem cells from baby teeth (TeethCells), in line with its strategy to build a diverse service offering to enable the storage of cells for individuals anywhere along the age spectrum, allowing maximum market penetration.
Dr. Orcharton's established network and experience within the dental industry will be invaluable in supporting the development of this new service offering and the British Dental Conference and Exhibition provides an opportune format through which to connect with industry leaders.
For further information on the conference please visit https://bda.org/conference
**ENDS**
For further information, please visit the Company's website www.widecellsgroup.com, follow us on Twitter @WideCells_Group or contact:
WideCells Group |
CEO - João Andrade |
Tel: +351 919 033 171 |
Smaller Company Capital Ltd |
Broker - Jeremy Woodgate & Rupert Williams |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3651 2912 |
Shard Capital Partners LLP |
Broker - Damon Heath & Erik Woolgar |
Tel: +44 (0) 207 186 9950 |
St Brides Partners Ltd |
PR - Elisabeth Cowell & Charlotte Page |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7236 1177 |
Notes to Editors
WideCells Group PLC is building an integrated stem cell services company, focused on making stem cell treatments accessible and affordable. The Directors believe that the use of cord blood stem cells for transplant will drive one of the next important phases in medicine and is therefore developing market leading products in complementary, strategic areas which are designed to take advantage of substantial market opportunities in one of the fastest growing segments in the healthcare industry. With this in mind, it has created three divisions:
· CellPlan: the world's first stem cell healthcare insurance plan with financial cover for medical treatment, travel and accommodation expenses and concierge service to manage the treatment process.
· WideCells: the Institute of Stem Cell Technology has been established and is based in the University of Manchester Innovation Centre to focus on stem cell research and regenerative medicine. WideCells also has international cryogenics divisions specialising on stem cell storage.
· WideAcademy: developing an education and training division to promote awareness of the benefits of stem cell storage across the global general practice community.
The Group has built an experienced senior management team that has been integral to the development of its growth and business to date.
Stem Cell Fast Facts:
· Cord blood (which is taken from the umbilical cord) provides the most effective source of stem cells for families due to it being simple, safe and painless to collect relative to other sources of stem cells such as bone marrow - WideCells will focus on promoting the collection and storage of this.
· Since 2005, there has been a 300% increase in the number of illnesses that can be treated using stem cells.
· 82 illnesses can currently be treated using stem cell procedures.
· Despite initial storage often costing no more than a few £thousand, actual treatment can cost in the £hundreds of thousands.