Cytori Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CYTX) today announced that the Company and
Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), a
division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, executed
an amendment of a contract option originally signed in August 2014 to
fund continued investigation and development of Cytori Cell Therapy™ for
use in thermal burn injuries.
The amended option is valued at $14.1 million, an increase of
approximately $2 million from its original value of $12.1 million. Upon
Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) approval by the FDA, BARDA
anticipates providing additional funding to cover costs associated with
the completion of a clinical trial, currently estimated at $8.3 million,
bringing the combined contract option value up to $22.4 million.
The supplemental funds from this amended contract will be primarily used
to support 2015 activities such as verification, testing and validation
for delivery and processing of adipose-derived regenerative cells
(ADRCs™). Reports generated by the funded activities will be submitted
to the FDA as part of an IDE package for a proposed clinical trial using
Cytori Cell Therapy in thermal burn injury. The original contract
retains two additional options to fund a pivotal clinical trial and
additional work in thermal burn complicated by radiation exposure valued
at up to $45 million and $23 million, respectively.
“We are pleased to see that once again, BARDA continues to show strong
support and interest in Cytori Cell Therapy for this indication,” said
Dr. Marc Hedrick, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cytori.“With
these incremental funds, we can expedite the product development and
clinical timelines by several months.”
The treatment of thermal burns remains a critical unmet medical need.
Despite standard of care primarily consisting of dressings, skin grafts
and skin substitutes, patients frequently suffer from pain, scarring,
skin contracture and reduced range of motion. Autologous cell therapies
such as those offered by Cytori have the potential to improve the
quality and rate of wound healing and reduce scarring.
According to the American Burn Association, there were approximately
450,000 burn injuries in 2013 that required medical treatment in the
United States, with approximately 40,000 requiring hospitalization. In a
mass casualty event, the Government Accountability Office reports that
as many as 10,000 patients could require thermal burn care. The limited
number of specialist surgeons and burn centers in the U.S. creates a
public health need for a burn wound therapy that can be quickly and
broadly applied by non-specialist medical personnel following such an
event.
About Cytori Therapeutics, Inc.
Cytori Therapeutics is a late stage cell therapy company developing
autologous cell therapies from adipose tissue to treat a variety of
medical conditions. Data from preclinical studies and clinical trials
suggest that Cytori Cell Therapy™ acts principally by improving blood
flow, modulating the immune system, and facilitating wound repair. As a
result, Cytori Cell Therapy™ may provide benefits across multiple
disease states and can be made available to the physician and patient at
the point-of-care through Cytori’s proprietary solutions. For more
information: visit www.cytori.com
or follow Cytori on Twitter www.twitter.com/cytori.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
This communication includes forward-looking statements regarding events,
trends and business prospects, which may affect our future operating
results and financial position. Such statements, including, but not
limited to, those regarding an FDA Investigational Device Exemption
(IDE) approval for a pilot clinical trial of Cytori Cell Therapy in
thermal burn, and anticipated BARDA funding of approximately $8.3
million to cover the costs of the pilot clinical trial for thermal burn,
further extensions, option exercises or additional contract work that
may be sponsored by BARDA, are subject to risks and uncertainties that
could cause our actual results and financial position to differ
materially. Some of these risks and uncertainties include future
Government funding and procurement priorities, the Government’s sole
discretion in determining funding timing and amounts, the Government’s
ability to reduce, modify or terminate the contract if it determines it
is in the Government’s best interests to do so, the quality of data
supporting execution of BARDA contract options, risks in the collection
and results of clinical data, final clinical outcomes, regulatory
uncertainties, dependence on third party performance, and other risks
and uncertainties described under the "Risk Factors" section in Cytori's
Securities and Exchange Commission Filings on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q.
Cytori assumes no responsibility to update or revise any forward-looking
statements contained in this press release to reflect events, trends or
circumstances after the date of this communication.
Copyright Business Wire 2014