Amarantus BioSciences Issues CEO Letter to Shareholders

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Nov. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Amarantus BioSciences, Inc. (AMBS), a biotechnology company developing new treatments and diagnostics for Parkinson's disease and Traumatic Brain Injury centered on its proprietary anti-apoptosis therapeutic protein MANF, today announced that President & CEO Gerald Commissiong issued a letter to shareholders as detailed below.

Dear Shareholders,

I thank you for the trust you have placed in our management team. We fully respect the value of the money you have chosen to invest in Amarantus Biosciences, selecting us over the many other investment options available. We are focused on our mission to offer meaningful products to help patients suffering from debilitating diseases, and we believe our technologies and expertise can have an impact in multiple areas.

As was recently announced, we were able to strengthen the corporation's balance sheet by raising cash and reducing liabilities. These financing transactions were vital for the Company to pay certain vendors who are critical to on-going operations, as well as raise sufficient working capital to pursue our corporate strategy, as detailed below. Our management team and Board of Directors remain extremely dedicated to the overall success of the corporation. This is evidenced by every member working without cash consideration since Amarantus became public in the spring of 2011.This has allowed all available resources to be focused on product development.

With the financing completed, we intend to expand our resources in the areas of corporate communications, regulatory affairs, and product development in order to execute upon our corporate strategy. In this effort, yesterday we received positive feedback at the CNS Summit 2012 on a presentation made by our Chief Scientist. We intend to continue to present the Company at various scientific and investor conferences in order to expose new investors and potential partners to the Company and its technologies.

Mesencephalic-Astrocyte-derived Neurotrophic Factor (MANF)

MANF is the Company's primary asset. Management believes that MANF has broad potential because it is a naturally-occurring protein produced by the body for the purpose of reducing and preventing apoptosis (Programmed Cell Death) in response to injury or disease. By manufacturing MANF and administering it to the body, Amarantus is seeking to use a regenerative medicine approach to assist the body with higher quantities of MANF in the right areas and at the right time. In so doing, we are not fundamentally changing what the body does; instead, we are helping the body do what it does better to overcome injury or disease. This approach appears to be in the mainstream of thought leadership both in academia and industry, and Amarantus is positioning itself to be a leader in the field.

Amarantus is the front-runner and primary holder of intellectual property (IP) around MANF. The Company's portfolio covering the MANF protein, gene and use as a cell therapy adjuvant is extensive and robust. We are initially focusing on the development of MANF-based protein therapeutics.In order to improve our portfolio, we are continually enhancing our IP position through the filing of additional patents, in-licensing, and acquisition of related and complementary intellectual property. These endeavours have positioned the Company for long-term success by cornering the MANF-related market and forcing future potential partners or acquirers to deal solely with Amarantus in order to get access to MANF.We will continue to prosecute this strategy to the best of our ability.

The Company has implemented a strategy centered on developing MANF in areas where partnerships with not-for-profit organizations and granting agencies are readily available.These partnerships have garnered support for Amarantus from thought-leaders and have offset some of the financial burden of running proof-of-concept studies. The Company has already taken steps to improve our prospects in future partnering discussions from a corporate structure standpoint, and we will continue to improve MANF's prospects by focusing on further differentiating MANF from its competition, especially in Parkinson's disease. To further this objective, we have added certain key advisors to assist management in preparing a winning strategy to obtain the most value from our MANF program. With these new additions, we have gained access to significant intellectual capital, as well as invaluable insight into the realm of preparing both our asset and our corporation for successful partnerships.

MANF's current lead indication is Parkinson's disease, an area where we have produced very promising results.We have also achieved positive data in Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) through our collaboration with Banyan Biomarkers. Our #C4CT program has attracted significant attention among NFL players and other professional athletes who have suffered from brain injuries, and we intend to leverage those relationships to raise awareness of MANF's potential role in TBI. In addition to Parkinson's disease and TBI, MANF has shown to be effective across a broad range of indications. The recent publication of myocardial infarction data validating a MANF-based approach has added significant value to our patent portfolio.Myocardial Infarction is a $5B market where there are currently no approved drugs to address the ischemia and reperfusion related injuries associated with heart attacks.

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Amarantus BioSciences Issues CEO Letter to Shareholders