CytoTherapeutics` Study in
      Nature Demonstrates
      Neuroprotection in Primate
      Model of Huntington`s Disease
      Encapsulated-Cell Delivery of
      CNTF Shown to Prevent Damage
      to Brain Circuitry <>

      PROVIDENCE, R.I., March 26 /PRNewswire/ via Individual Inc. --
      CytoTherapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: CTII) reported today that
      administration of a neurotrophic factor via the Company's
      encapsulated-cell system was shown to be neuroprotective in a
      non-human primate model of Huntington's disease. Researchers
      demonstrated that human CNTF (hCNTF), delivered in this
      manner, significantly reduced the striatal neuron loss which is
      associated with movement abnormalities, as well as reducing the
      damage of a key region within the cerebral cortex. As reported by
      Dwaine F. Emerich, Ph.D. and colleagues at CytoTherapeutics,
      and Jeffrey H. Kordower, Ph.D. of Rush Presbyterian Medical
      Center in the current issue of Nature, these results represent the
      first primate study to show definitively that a growth factor can
      act as a potential therapeutic agent in protecting multiple neuronal
      populations in an animal model of Huntington's disease. The
      research published in today's Nature was sponsored by
      CytoTherapeutics of Providence, Rhode Island.

      "We are optimistic about the results of our Huntington's disease
      study published in Nature. Delivery of growth factors based on
      this cell- encapsulated technology has provided us with a new
      avenue for neuroprotective therapy," stated Dr. Kordower. "This
      technology is particularly exciting for patients with Huntington's
      disease. Through genetic testing, all those at risk for Huntington's
      disease can be identified decades prior to the onset of symptoms
      or neural degeneration. Thus, unlike Parkinson's or Alzheimer's
      disease, where extensive degeneration has already taken place at
      the time of clinical diagnosis, we can potentially intervene using
      this technology well before neural degeneration takes place --
      optimizing our chances to provide neuroprotection for these
      patients."

      In the study, human CNTF was found to preserve several
      populations of striatal cells, including GABAergic, cholinergic
      and diaphorase-positive neurons, in addition to critical
      non-striatal regions associated with cognitive capabilities.
      Researchers utilized CytoTherapeutics' cell- containing devices to
      deliver hCNTF. The model used was based on the injection of
      quinolinic acid (QA) into the striatal region of the primates' brains
      to produce death of the specific neurons similar to those lost in
      Huntington's disease. Prior to the unilateral QA lesioning,
      CytoTherapeutics' devices were implanted into brain tissue of
      non-human primates. Animals receiving the hCNTF-secreting
      devices exhibited a significant sparing of the neuronal cells that
      would normally have been lost following the lesion.

      "The results of the study reported today in Nature are very
      encouraging. These data support the therapeutic rationale for use
      of our encapsulated-cell devices to deliver, site specifically, a
      continuous dose of a potentially neuroprotective agent in
      Huntington's disease," said Sandra Nusinoff Lehrman, M.D.,
      President and Chief Operating Officer. "To date, there is no
      effective treatment capable of slowing or preventing the course of
      this devastating disease. We hope that our approach will offer a
      vital new avenue to researchers in this field."

      Growth factors, alone and in combination, are believed to have
      substantial potential for halting the progressive loss of neuronal
      tissue characteristic of many central nervous system, or CNS,
      disorders. CytoTherapeutics is investigating the potential use of
      its encapsulated-cell products to deliver additional growth factors
      to treat Huntington's disease. The Company believes that its
      technology may represent a practical means of long-term delivery
      of such growth factors across the blood-brain barrier, avoiding
      many of the side- effects associated with current methods for
      delivering these substances within the CNS.

      The current study of the delivery of growth factors to treat
      Huntington's disease builds on work by Drs. Emerich and
      Kordower. As previously reported in the Journal of Neuroscience
      in 1996, delivery of hCNTF reduced both loss of specific neurons
      and subsequent movement abnormalities in a rodent model of
      Huntington's disease. In 1994, as reported in Experimental
      Neurology, researchers employed the same rodent model for
      Huntington's disease to deliver human nerve growth factor
      (hNGF). In this study, hNGF administered directly to the CNS of
      rodents produced sparing of a specific neuronal population and a
      corresponding reduction in movement abnormalities.

      Huntington's disease, which affects more than 25,000 patients in
      the United States, is a genetically determined, progressive
      neurodegenerative disease for which there is no cure. The
      movement disorders and cognitive losses that are symptomatic of
      the disease are caused by the death of neurons within the striatal
      and critical non-striatal regions of the brain.

      CytoTherapeutics, Inc. is a leader in the development of novel cell
      therapy systems designed to deliver therapeutic substances to
      the central nervous system (CNS). The Company's CNS-focused
      technology is designed to provide controlled, site-specific and
      safe delivery of a variety of novel therapeutic substances across
      the blood-brain barrier, potentially overcoming a fundamental
      obstacle in the effective treatment of CNS diseases. At its
      headquarters in Providence, Rhode Island, the Company is
      currently developing products for the treatment of chronic pain,
      ALS, Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease, with
      additional efforts directed to several other CNS disorders.
      Through its 50%-owned Swiss subsidiary, Modex Therapeutiques
      SA, the Company is also developing applications of its
      technology to treat diabetes, blood disorders and obesity. For
      additional information, visit the Company's Internet web site at
      http://www.cyto.com.

      Certain statements in this press release include forward-looking
      comments regarding, among other things, product development
      programs and potential new products. CytoTherapeutics' actual
      results may vary materially from those forward looking statements
      due to risks and uncertainties, such as the need to inlicense rights
      to hCNTF or other neurotrophic factors, delays in obtaining
      regulatory approvals, uncertainties of product development, or
      delays in product development and other risks to which the
      Company is subject and which are described in Exhibit 99 to the
      Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K entitled "Cautionary
      Factors Relevant to Forward Looking Statements."

      SOURCE CytoTherapeutics, Inc.

      /CONTACT: Seth A. Rudnick, M.D., Chairman and CEO or Sandra
      Nusinoff Lehrman, M.D., President and COO of
      CytoTherapeutics, Inc., 401-272-3310, or Karen L. Bergman
      (media) or Reagan Codner (investors) of Burns McClellan, Inc.,
      212-505-1919/ (CTII)

      [Copyright 1997, PR Newswire]