StemCutis Attracts Stem Cell Entrepreneur Dr. Ike Lee as President and CEO and Noted Dermatologist Dr. Ronald Wheeland as Director

StemCutis, LLC, a Stemedica Cell Technologies, Inc., operating company that develops allogeneic stem cell therapies for dermatology applications and over-the-counter (OTC) skin care, appoints stem cell entrepreneur Ike Lee, Ph.D., as President and CEO. In this role, he will explore breakthrough applications in stem cell therapies and drive global commercialization. In addition, former President of the American Academy of Dermatology Dr. Ronald Wheeland joins the company’s Board of Directors, where he will share his expertise to advance worldwide dermatological treatments for skin diseases using stem cell therapies.

“StemCutis is privileged to engage the talents of Drs. Ike Lee and Ronald Wheeland, who will advance efforts to develop and commercialize stem cell therapies to heal compromised skin, as well as OTC products to improve skin appearance,” says Nikolai Tankovich, M.D., Ph.D., StemCutis’ Chairman of the Board and Stemedica’s President and Chief Medical Officer.

Dr. Lee, a 16-year biotechnology veteran, earned his Ph.D. in molecular biology from the University of Georgia and spent four years as an Instructor at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital. Leveraging his research and experiences at Harvard, he founded Anterogen, one of the first successful stem cell therapy companies in Korea. Before joining StemCutis, he served as Co-founder and CEO of Alopax Bio-Consulting. He has managed several stem cell companies in the United States, Belgium and Korea, serving as President and CTO of AnC Bio, CEO of CHA Biotech, Co-founder and CSO of Cardio3 S.A. and Co-founder and CSO of Anterogen.

“StemCutis is the first company I’ve seen that addresses the market need for dermatology and skin care therapies that treat underlying problems rather than just symptoms,” says Dr. Lee. “I am excited to join this effort to commercialize stem cell therapies that regenerate the skin’s physiological processes and biological structures.”

Dr. Wheeland, a 40-year dermatology expert and former president of the American Academy of Dermatology, the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery and the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery, earned his M.D. from the University of Arizona College of Medicine. He is the former Section Chief at the University of Arizona College of Medicine’s Dermatology Division, and has also served as Professor and Chairman of the Department of Dermatology at UC Davis and the University of New Mexico. He has authored more than 250 publications, 68 book chapters, eight textbooks, including “Cutaneous Surgery,” and numerous peer-reviewed articles. He serves as a member of the editorial boards of “Journal of Drugs in Dermatology,” “Dermatologic Surgery,” “American Journal of Clinical Dermatology,” and “Lasers in Surgery and Medicine.” He also serves as medical co-editor of “Dermatology Times.”

“StemCutis has a unique opportunity to advance stem cell therapies for dermatology applications,” says Ronald Wheeland, M.D., StemCutis’ Board Member. “I’m privileged to join the stellar board of directors StemCutis has assembled, and I look forward to sharing my four decades of dermatology expertise to help commercialize the company’s stem cell therapies.”

Only StemCutis’ skin care therapies feature ischemia-tolerant mesenchymal stem cells (itMSCs) and stem cell factors, which are exclusively licensed from StemCutis’ parent company Stemedica. Stemedica is the only company manufacturing cGMP grade MSCs under low oxygen (hypoxic) conditions approved for clinical trials within the United States. In vitro experiments demonstrate that these itMSCs show greater homing and engraftment than cells grown under normoxic conditions. Compared to other MSCs, itMSCs secrete higher levels of growth factors and other important proteins associated with neoangiogenesis, as well as skin repair and rejuvenation.

About StemCutis, LLC

Founded in San Diego, California, in 2014, StemCutis, LLC, is a global biotechnology company that develops cosmetic products and dermatology therapies. StemCutis is a subsidiary of Stemedica Cell Technologies, Inc., a cGMP-compliant facility that manufactures ischemia-tolerant allogeneic stem cells. StemCutis therapies are based on Stemedica’s unique, proprietary technology for the expansion of cells under hypoxic conditions, which provides critical benefits in terms of safety, efficacy, scalability and standardization. StemCutis has an exclusive, worldwide license from Stemedica to explore therapeutic indications for a range of conditions that affect skin and tissue appearance, such as compromised skin, diabetic ulcers, hair loss, burns and hypertrophic, atrophic and keloid scars. For more information, visit http://www.stemcutis.com.