2008-05-07 22:17:44 -
BioTime, Inc. (OTCBB:BTIM) Chief Executive Officer Michael West, PhD today gave a presentation at the 2008 Seoul Digital Forum in Seoul, South Korea. This year's conference, May 6-8, is titled "IMAGINATION - Explore T.I.M.E. [Technology, Information, Media & Entertainment], Space and Beyond."
Dr. West was one of the featured speakers on the Biotechnology Visionaries panel, which explored what the medical and
scientific community is doing to improve the human condition. The focus of Dr. West's presentation was on the future of the embryonic stem cell technology platform, and the implications that research has for medicine in the coming decades.
The Seoul Digital Forum is a major annual international conference focused on highlighting innovations in the digital world, with the stated aim of enhancing knowledge and understanding on a broad range of issues in the digital era.
In his presentation, Dr. West explained that human embryonic stem cells have two properties that set them apart from other cultured normal human cells and are the basis of their great promise. They show the unusual property of indefinite propagation in the laboratory, and they have the capacity to turn into any of the cell types of the human body. Dr. West suggested that these properties have the potential to unify the fields of cell biology and molecular genetics, with profound implications for the future of medicine. Dr. West also briefly described BioTime's programs in the stem cell arena and its efforts to map the human embryome with its planned database, Embryome.com.
Dr. West commented, "Advances in information technology are enabling advances in biotechnology at an accelerating rate, with BioTime's planned embryome mapping database, Embryome.com, as just one example. We applaud the organizers of the Seoul Digital Forum for synergistically melding a very diverse group of Visionaries and other participants under a common theme at this year's event."
This year's conference featured an address by Bill Gates, founder and chairman of Microsoft. The keynote speaker was Sumner Redstone, Chairman, Viacom and CBS Corporation, and other Visionaries and participants include Tim Draper, Founder and Managing Director, Draper Fischer Jurvetson; Craig Walker, Senior Product Manager, Google Voice Products; Dochan Kwak, Chief of the Applications Branch, Advanced Supercomputing Division, NASA; and Eugene Cernan, Commander of Apollo XVII, "The Last Man on the Moon," among others.
About BioTime, Inc.
BioTime, headquartered in Emeryville, California, develops blood plasma volume expanders, blood replacement solutions for hypothermic (low temperature) surgery, organ preservation solutions, and technology for use in surgery, emergency trauma treatment and other applications. BioTime's lead product Hextend is manufactured and distributed in the U.S. by Hospira, Inc. and in South Korea by CJ CheilJedang Corp. under exclusive licensing agreements.
BioTime has recently entered the field of regenerative medicine through its wholly owned subsidiary Embryome Sciences, Inc., through which it plans to develop new medical and research products using embryonic stem cell technology. Additional information about BioTime can be found on the web at www.biotimeinc.com. HextendŽ, PentaLyteŽ, HetaCoolŽ, EmbryomicsTM, ESpyTM, and EScalateTM are trademarks of BioTime, Inc.
Forward Looking Statements
The matters discussed in this press release include forward-looking statements which are subject to various risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results anticipated. Such risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to the success of BioTime in developing new stem cell products and technologies; results of clinical trials of BioTime products; the ability of BioTime and its licensees to obtain additional FDA and foreign regulatory approval to market BioTime products; competition from products manufactured and sold or being developed by other companies; the price of and demand for BioTime products, and the ability of BioTime to raise the capital needed to finance its current and planned operations. Other factors that could affect BioTime's operations and financial condition are discussed in BioTime's Annual Report on Form 10-KSB filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Brainerd Communicators, Inc.
Scott Lessne, 212-986-6667
lessne@braincomm.com 
