Mission Health & Hospitals Asheville, USA announced that it has made a
$50,000 grant that will enable Bent Creek Institute to equip the nation's
first germplasm, or genetic repository, for medicinal plants.
Based in Asheville, NC, Bent Creek Institute is part of The North
Carolina Arboretum. The grant from Mission will be used to purchase
equipment for plant propagation, seed storage and processing, and plant
tissue culture incubation.

Bent Creek Institute is a new, cutting-edge research organization
whose mission is to discover medicinal treatments for disease based on
plants and other organisms such as fungi that are native to Western North
Carolina (WNC), the most biodiverse region in North America. Unlocking the
secrets of WNC's vast biodiversity through documented, peer-reviewed science
is expected to provide results for use in alternative and complementary
medical treatment of human disease, and to enable the region and its
workforce to tap into international natural products commerce. Global
natural products sales are estimated to be at $200 billion per year ($55
billion in the United States alone) and growing 14% annually.

"Germplasm is a term used to describe the DNA of an organism," said
Cheryl McMurry, executive director of Bent Creek Institute. "This germplasm
repository contains core collections of medicinal plant germplasm
representing the diversity of species found in the Southern Appalachians.
This scientific resource will enable Bent Creek Institute to use
biotechnology tools to delve into the complex chemical properties of these
plants so their secrets are finally understood. The plants will not be
genetically altered - maintaining the natural integrity of our products will
be an important competitive advantage for our region."

Respected botanist will lead the germplasm project

On December 15, Dr. Joe-Ann McCoy, a leading botanist, will join Bent
Creek Institute and build the extensive collection, which will ultimately
include seeds and plant tissue associated with hundreds of native plants.
McCoy is best known for her research at Clemson University on growing
methods that create sustainable harvesting practices for black cohosh, a
mountain-grown plant that contains chemical compounds providing relief for
the hot flashes triggered by menopause. Her work has benefited millions of
women worldwide.

Mission's support of research in western North Carolina

"Western North Carolina has been a healthcare destination for more
than a century," said Joseph F. Damore, president and chief executive
officer of Mission Health & Hospitals. "Today through the germplasm project
we have the opportunity to contribute scientific data on the use of natural
products, something that has the potential of benefiting hundreds of
thousands of people. Mission is pleased to support this project, and we hope
that our grant will help the Bent Creek Institute secure additional support
from foundations and others interested in documenting the benefits of
natural products."

The Asheville hub is a catalyst for collaboration

The Asheville Hub is a nonprofit, community-based effort to promote a
new economy for Buncombe County that builds on existing strengths in health
care and other sectors.

"The Mission grant to Bent Creek Institute is tangible evidence that
the collaboration encouraged by the Asheville Hub within Asheville and
Buncombe County's rejuvenation cluster is really happening," said Bent Creek
Institute's McMurry. She and Mission's Damore are both members of the
Asheville Hub Alliance, the 35-member leadership group whose level of
collaboration is unprecedented in the Asheville community. "The pieces of
the rejuvenation cluster are starting to fit. We're seeing the good things
that happen when our leaders share their visions and their resources with
each other. Western North Carolina is on its way to positioning itself as
the Napa Valley of natural products."

Building western North Carolina's economy

The Mission grant to Bent Creek Institute is being made through the
North Carolina Arboretum Society, a nonprofit organization which raises
private funds to support the Arboretum's mission and supplement the
operational budget provided by the State of North Carolina.

"Donations to the North Carolina Arboretum Society support educational
lectures and workshops, regional plant shows, garden enhancements, and
training, but they also propel The North Carolina Arboretum's efforts to
improve the region's economy," said Russ Martin, president of the Arboretum
Society. "Natural products offer a very promising opportunity for Western
North Carolinians to sustainably and profitably produce natural products
that we can market well beyond our region."

Other donors funding the germplasm project include Buncombe County,
which has contributed $150,000, and the North Carolina Biotechnology Center,
which has contributed $100,000.

About Mission Hospitals

Mission Health & Hospitals (www.msj.org), based in Asheville, NC, is
the regional referral center for Western North Carolina and the adjoining
region. It is a not-for-profit, independent community hospital system
accredited by The Joint Commission. Mission and its member hospitals are
governed by volunteer boards of directors representing the communities they
serve.

The main hospital in the system, Mission Hospitals in Asheville, is
licensed for 716 beds on its two adjoining campuses, Memorial and St.
Joseph. The medical staff has more than 650 physicians representing most
specialties and subspecialties. There are some 6,000 employees and nearly
900 volunteers.

About The North Carolina Arboretum and Bent Creek Institute

The mission of The North Carolina Arboretum is to cultivate
connections between people and plants. For more information, visit the
Arboretum website at www.ncarboretum.org.

About the Asheville Hub

The Asheville HUB is a nonprofit, community-based effort to promote a
new economy for Buncombe County that builds on existing strengths in
technology, health care, creativity and other sectors. Leading the Asheville
Hub are the 35 members of the Asheville Hub Alliance who provide leadership
for the economic, community and cultural development effort. For more
information about the Asheville Hub, visit www.ashevillehub.com.


Bent Creek Institute backgrounder

The Bent Creek Institute is a cutting-edge research organization whose
mission is to discover medicinal treatments for disease based on plants and
other organisms, such as fungi. It endeavors to translate research
innovations into sustainable economic advantage for the state of North
Carolina. As a part of The North Carolina Arboretum, Bent Creek Institute is
forming partnerships, collaborations and programs in research, economic
development, medical care, product development and commercialization,
conservation, marketing and public outreach to bring international attention
to Western North Carolina's (WNC) unparalleled biodiversity, exceptional
reputation for health and wellness, and cultural distinctiveness.

The Institute's unique approach to research and production of
intellectual property will:

-Result in pharmaceutical and nutraceutical product development.
-Provide a foundation for profitable business models for natural
product growers and manufacturers statewide.
-Serve as an international repository and clearing house for the
study, protection and careful commercial use of Western North Carolina's
native plants.
-Develop new tools to help understand the health benefits of natural
medicine, as well as complementary and alternative medicine.
-Provide validation for alternative and complementary medicine via
clinical trial design and development.
-Create unique research opportunities for post-doctoral researchers,
as well as graduate,
-Drive informed ecological public policy that protects WNC's unique
biodiversity.

Unlocking the secrets of WNC's vast biodiversity through documented,
peer reviewed science will not only provide results for use in alternative
and complementary medical treatment of human disease, but will help Western
North Carolina tap into international natural products commerce, a $200
billion global industry growing 14% annually. Science that demonstrates the
efficacy of WNC herbal medicines can be used to brand regional growers'
products, support higher raw and finished product price points, establish
ancillary processing, manufacturing, marketing and distribution businesses,
and launch WNC as an international location for natural product innovation.
Bent Creek Institute's program is consistent with the NIH Director's Roadmap
for Medical Research and supports the expansion of the increasingly
important use of integrative medicine.
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