TiGenix signs up 4th major hospital in the Netherlands for innovative cartilage repair therapy

"Our close collaboration with the Dutch hospitals is key to making ChondroCelect available to patients in the Netherlands," said Eduardo Bravo, CEO of TiGenix. "Dutch scientists and clinicians have made important contributions to the development of this innovative cartilage repair therapy. Patients who suffer from cartilage lesions in the knee that cause recurrent pain and can be incapacitating can now be routinely treated and literally find their footing again. We expect to soon expand the number of hospitals in the Netherlands where ChondroCelect is available."

Damage to the articular cartilage in the knee can be caused by sports or professional activities in which the knee is repeatedly and forcefully impacted. It is a condition that predominantly occurs in young adults, who as a result suffer from recurrent pain, locking or limited range of motion, and risk being incapacitated. TiGenix has developed ChondroCelect as a therapy to help patients regain their mobility and fully active lives by effectively repairing the damaged cartilage in the knee.

For more information:

Eduardo Bravo
Chief Executive Officer
eduardo.bravo@tigenix.com            

Claudia D'Augusta
Chief Financial Officer
claudia.daugusta@tigenix.com

Hans Herklots
Director Investor & Media Relations
hans.herklots@tigenix.com
+32 16 39 60 97

About ChondroCelect®

ChondroCelect® for cartilage regeneration in the knee is an implantation suspension of characterized viable autologous (from the patient her- or himself) cartilage cells. The product is administered to patients in an autologous chondrocyte implantation procedure known as Characterized Chondrocyte Implantation (CCI), a surgical procedure to treat cartilage defects, in conjunction with debridement (preparation of the defect bed), a physical seal of the lesion (placement of a biological membrane, preferentially a collagen membrane) and rehabilitation.

Cartilage defects of the knee are very common and the spontaneous healing capacity of cartilage is limited. Currently, roughly 2 million cases of articular cartilage defects of the knee are diagnosed worldwide every year. TiGenix estimates that in Europe and the United States around 130,000 patients are eligible for treatment with cartilage regeneration products such as ChondroCelect.

ChondroCelect is the first cell-based product to successfully complete the entire development track from research to clinical development, and was approved by the European Medicines Agency as an Advanced Medicinal Therapy Product in October 2009. ChondroCelect is to date the only EMA approved cartilage repair therapy, and is commercially available in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxemburg, Germany, the United Kingdom, Finland, and Spain.

About TiGenix

TiGenix NV (NYSE Euronext Brussels: TIG) is a leading European cell therapy company with a marketed cell therapy product for cartilage repair, ChondroCelect®, and a strong pipeline with clinical stage allogeneic adult stem cell programs for the treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. TiGenix is based out of Leuven (Belgium) and has operations in Madrid (Spain), and Sittard-Geleen (the Netherlands).

For more information please visit www.tigenix.com.