BOTHELL, Wash., July 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- BioLife Solutions, Inc. (OTCQB: BLFS), a leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of proprietary clinical grade hypothermic storage and cryopreservation freeze media for cells and tissues, and contract aseptic media manufacturer, today announced that Robert Preti, Ph.D., President and Chief Scientific Officer of Progenitor Cell Therapy, a wholly owned subsidiary of NeoStem, Inc. (NYSE MKT: NBS), has joined its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB).

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Dr. Preti co-founded Progenitor Cell Therapy (PCT) in 1999. Since its inception, PCT has served over 100 clients from around the world and has experience with more than 20 different cell-based therapeutics.  PCT has performed over 30,000 cell therapy procedures in its cell therapy manufacturing facilities, and processed and stored over 18,000 cell therapy products (including approximately 7,000 umbilical cord blood units, 10,000 blood and marrow derived stem cell units and 1,000 dendritic cell units) and arranged the logistics and transportation for over 14,000 cell therapy products for clinical use by over 5,000 patients.

Mike Rice, BioLife Solutions President and CEO, commented on the announcement by stating, "Bob Preti is one of the most experienced and respected clinicians and corporate executives in the worldwide clinical cell therapy and regenerative medicine markets.  We are honored that he has accepted our invitation to join our esteemed SAB.  BioLife and PCT have several mutual customers and we look forward to future SAB collaborative discussions on how our best in class biopreservation media products can further improve biopreservation outcomes for commercial and non-profit clinical organizations."

TriMarkPublications.com cites in its newly published "Regenerative Medicine Markets" report that the regenerative medicine market will catapult to over $35 billion by 2019.

Dr. Preti remarked on his joining BioLife's SAB by stating, "I have known of and seen the quality and performance of BioLife's serum-free, protein-free cGMP biopreservation media products for many years.  I have also collaborated on many occasions with its management team and have been extremely impressed by the corporate culture and customer focus of BioLife. I look forward to joining BioLife's exceptional scientific advisory board."

BioLife's Scientific Advisory Board is chaired by Aby J. Mathew, Ph.D., Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at BioLife and is comprised of the following members:

• Scott M. Burger, M.D., principal of Advanced Cell and Gene Therapy, a leading consulting firm specializing in cell, gene, and tissue-based therapies.
• Lizabeth J. Cardwell, MT (ASCP), MBA, RAC, Compliance Consulting for Cell Therapy and Biotechnology. Ms. Cardwell has provided Quality Assurance and Regulatory consulting for start-up cell therapy and biotechnology companies since 2005. Prior to August 2005, Ms. Cardwell held the position of Director of Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance at Xcyte Therapies.
• Jerry E. Cooley, M.D., is a board certified dermatologist and diplomate of the American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery (ABHRS). He has served in leadership positions including President of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) and co-editor of the Hair Transplant Forum, the main journal for hair transplant physicians. He has been performing hair transplants for almost 20 years.
• Colleen Delaney, M.D., is the Director of the Cord Blood Research and Transplant Program at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC) and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA). She is an attending physician at Seattle Children's Hospital, Assistant Member of the Clinical Research Division of FHCRC and Assistant Professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
• Dayong Gao, Ph.D., professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Washington in Seattle. Dr. Gao has been actively engaged in cryopreservation research for more than 20 years, having authored over 130 peer-reviewed journal articles on cryopreservation.
• Shelly Heimfeld, Ph.D., is the Director, Heimfeld Research Laboratory, Scientific Director, Cellular Therapy Laboratory, and Scientific Director, cGMP Therapeutic Manufacturing Facilities at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Dr. Heimfeld is internationally recognized for research in hematopoietic-derived stem cells and the development of cell processing technologies for improved cancer therapy.
• Edward LeCluyse, Ph.D., Senior Research Investigator at The Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences. Dr. LeCluyse pioneered the use of HypoThermosol^® and CryoStor^® in improving preservation of research designated livers and derived commercial hepatocytes marketed to the pharmaceutical industry.
• John McMannis, Ph.D., Executive Vice President of Manufacturing at Mesoblast Limited (ASX: MSB; OTC ADR: MBLTY). Dr. McMannis was previously the Director, Cellular Therapy Laboratory, Department of Stem Cell Transplantation, Division of Cancer Medicine, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas.
• Jon Rowley, Ph.D., Entrepreneur and Independent Consultant, formerly the Innovation Director, Cell Processing Technologies at Lonza Biosciences. He has been responsible for driving technology development and innovation related to commercial scale bioprocessing of therapeutic cell-based products.
• Andrew Hinson joined the Board in February 2007. He is currently the Vice President for Clinical and Regulatory Affairs for LoneStar Heart, Inc., a developer of proprietary biopolymer, small molecule and cellular-based therapies to effectively treat heart failure and other cardiac conditions. Mr. Hinson has diverse experience in the cell and gene therapy markets and extensive experience with regulatory and clinical trial issues for new therapies for cardiac, neurologic, and gastrointestinal applications.
• Erik J. Woods, Ph.D., Co-Founder, CEO of General Biotechnology, LLC, now Cook General BioTechnology, a subsidiary of Cook Group. Dr. Woods is the current president of the Society for Cryobiology.

About Progenitor Cell Therapy

PCT is dedicated to bridging the gap between the concepts in the cell therapy industry and the therapeutic application in patient care by providing Clients with the maximum quality and value services in support of their cell therapy product and technology commercialization efforts.  For more information please visit http://pctcelltherapy.com/company/overview/.

About NeoStem

NeoStem, Inc. ("NeoStem" or the "Company") is a leader in the emerging cellular therapy industry. NeoStem's business model includes the development of novel proprietary cell therapy products as well as operating a contract development and manufacturing organization, providing services to others in the regenerative medicine industry. The combination of a therapeutic development business and revenue-generating service provider business provides the Company with capabilities for cost effective in-house product development and immediate revenue and cash flow generation.  For more information please visit www.neostem.com.

About BioLife Solutions

BioLife Solutions develops, manufactures and markets hypothermic storage and cryopreservation solutions for cells, tissues, and organs.  The Company's proprietary HypoThermosol^® and CryoStor^® platform of solutions are highly valued in the biobanking, drug discovery, and regenerative medicine markets. BioLife's products are serum-free and protein-free, fully defined, and are formulated to reduce preservation-induced cell damage and death.  BioLife's enabling technology provides academic and clinical researchers significant improvement in shelf life and post-preservation viability and function of cells, tissues, and organs.  For more information please visit www.biolifesolutions.com, and follow BioLife on Twitter.

This news release contains forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  These forward-looking statements include any statements that relate to the intent, belief, plans or expectations of the Company or its management, or that are not a statement of historical fact.  Any forward-looking statements in this news release are based on current expectations and beliefs and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Some of the specific factors that could cause BioLife Solutions' actual results to differ materially are discussed in the Company's recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  BioLife Solutions disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this press release. 

SOURCE BioLife Solutions, Inc.