Kadimastem Receives Grant for a Total Budget of $3.1 million from the Israeli Innovation Authority

NESS ZIONA, ISRAEL, March 3, 2022 – Kadimastem Ltd. (TASE: KDST), a clinical stage cell therapy company developing a treatment for ALS and a potential cure for diabetes, has received a grant from the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA) for a total budget of NIS 10 million ($3.1 million) and a net grant of NIS 4 million ($1.25 million).

The funds will be used to advance the filing of an IND with the FDA by the end of 2022, to secure the approval of the FDA of the anticipated Phase IIa, US, multicenter, clinical trial protocol of AstroRx® for the treatment of ALS and expand the use of AstroRx® cell product for other neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis and glaucoma.

Kadimastem CEO Asaf Shiloni said, "This grant is an important expression of trust by the Israeli Innovation Authority in Kadimastem and the potential of our clinical, cell therapy platform to provide millions of patients worldwide with life-saving treatments. The Company is currently in one of the most significant periods in its history, both clinically and financially. We are scaling-up for a Phase IIa clinical trial of AstroRx® for ALS in the US as well as preparing to list on NASDAQ. This grant provides us with the necessary resources to advance both sets of plans.”

Prof. Michel Revel, Chief Scientist of Kadimastem: "We thank the Innovation Authority for supporting Kadimastem, its work and its vision."

This is the second grant awarded to Kadimastem in the past months by the IIA. The previous grant was earmarked for the scale-up of the production of AstroRx® as well as for creating a frozen, off-the-shelf product, to ensure the clinical quality of the product for patients worldwide.

In 2019, Kadimastem completed a first-of-its-kind, Phase I/IIa clinical trial of AstroRx®, whereby the treatment was injected into the spinal cord fluid of 10 patients in a standard lumbar puncture procedure. AstroRx® showed high safety profile and significantly slowed the rate of disease progression for 3 months following treatment, as measured by the ALSFRS-R.

Dr. Michal lzrael, VP of R&D said, “The grants the Company has received from the IIA for the development and clinical production of Kadimastem’s cellular, off-the-shelf AstroRx® product are a clear recognition of the company`s innovative technology. Astrocytes, the support cells in the nervous system, which are the basis for the AstroRx® product, have enormous therapeutic potential to protect all types of nerve cells.  We are working hard to bring a product to market that will help to improve the lives of ALS patients worldwide as well as to development this therapy for other neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis and glaucoma."