MIRANDOLA, Italy and MONMOUTH JUNCTION, N.J., May 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Aferetica
srl, an innovative start-up specializing in blood purification, and CytoSorbents Corporation (NASDAQ: CTSO), a critical care immunotherapy leader commercializing CytoSorb® to treat deadly inflammation, announced the
renewal of their partnership enabling Aferetica to exclusively distribute CytoSorb in Italy
through 2021 for critical care and cardiac surgery applications. Based on collective expectations, this partnership could
result in more than $10 million in sales of CytoSorb to CytoSorbents over the term of the
agreement.
CytoSorb is an advanced blood purification technology that has helped many patients survive life-threatening conditions caused
by infection, trauma, liver failure, and many other diseases. It works by reducing a broad range of inflammatory toxins
from the blood that could otherwise cause deadly inflammation, organ failure, and fatal outcomes. Approved in the European
Union, CytoSorb has been used safely to help thousands of patients in the areas of critical care, cardiac surgery and organ
transplantation. One of the largest target markets is sepsis – the uncontrolled immune response to a serious infection –
which afflicts 30 million people worldwide each year, and causes nearly 10 million deaths.
Mr. Mauro Atti, CEO of Aferetica stated, "We are proud of our partnership with CytoSorbents
that has allowed us to bring CytoSorb®, and its innovative therapeutic approach, to Italian hospitals where it has
already demonstrated its great potential to save human lives. Since our introduction of CytoSorb® to the
hospital market a little over two years ago, more than 500 patients have been successfully treated in Italy. We can attest
to the many cases in both the intensive care unit and during cardiac surgery where physicians have used CytoSorb® to
stabilize and regain control of their patients in a timely manner, in a wide range of illnesses, including sepsis – the leading
killer worldwide. It has been particularly gratifying to be involved in helping to make a positive difference in the lives
of patients and their families. This includes many victims of the most powerful earthquake to hit central Italy in decades last year."
Mr. Atti continued, "These excellent results, as well as through valuable research activities, have led to strong
collaborations with the medical and scientific community in Italy, with increasing usage and
more than thirty clinical research projects currently ongoing. In addition to generating more clinical data, we expect
these studies will importantly also demonstrate that CytoSorb reduces the costs of ICU care. The interest in the CytoSorb therapy
continues to grow, as seen by our very successful symposium at the 28th SMART Anesthesia Resuscitation in Intensive
Care conference in Milan, where more than 300 people came to learn how to use CytoSorb to treat
sepsis, liver failure, and trauma."
"We are also particularly excited about our program in the field of solid organ transplantation, where Aferetica has been
working on innovative new projects to maximize the viability of transplanted organs, improve transplant outcomes, and give more
potential to human life. More than 8,000 patients are waiting for donated organs in Italy
alone. CytoSorb can play an important role before, during, and after transplant surgery, as already confirmed by recent and
important studies in collaboration with some of the most important Italian universities. CytoSorb has a really huge
therapeutic potential," Mr. Atti concluded.
Dr. Phillip Chan, CEO of CytoSorbents stated, "Aferetica is an exemplary partner that has used
its extensive knowledge, contacts, and experience of blood purification and critical illness to bring CytoSorb to the Italian
people. We have been very impressed by their focus, scientific vision, and leadership, particularly in exciting new growth
areas, and welcome the opportunity to work with them on an exclusive basis in Italy for the next
5 years."
Mr. Stefan Baudis, International Sales Director International of CytoSorbents commented, "We
congratulate the Aferetica team for their successful work in the past two years with CytoSorb. Their dedication and
passion for the CytoSorb therapy mirrors our own in our direct territories, and we are convinced that this will lead to even
greater success in Italy."
About Aferetica srl (Mirandola, Modena)
Founded by Mauro Atti and Stefano Rimondi, leaders with decades
of experience in dialysis, intensive care, cardiology and medical devices in general, Aferetica is innovative
start-up specializing in blood purification to provide the Health care system with systems for therapeutic
apheresis to support special procedures like Organ Transplant and to treat critical illnesses such as sepsis, autoimmune
diseases, and other illnesses caused by undesirable mediators.
Aferetica is based in the incubator of the Biomedical District of Mirandola, Italy, district
that brings with it as a common heritage of knowledge, technologies, and production capacities allowing to quickly and
efficiently develop therapies and products. Most of the innovations born in Europe in the field
of blood purification spring from ideas and activities carried out in collaboration between industry, clinicians, and
academicians around this territory. The Aferetica partners have always believed this is the main road leading to real and
concrete innovation and have with their activities contributed to the growth of collaborative research, the building block of the
company.
For more information, please visit the company website: http://www.aferetica.com
About CytoSorbents Corporation (NASDAQ: CTSO)
CytoSorbents Corporation is a leader in
critical care immunotherapy, specializing in blood purification. Its flagship product, CytoSorb® is approved in the European Union with distribution in
43 countries around the world, as a safe and effective extracorporeal cytokine adsorber, designed to reduce the "cytokine storm"
or "cytokine release syndrome" that could otherwise cause massive inflammation, organ failure and death in common critical
illnesses such as sepsis, burn injury, trauma, lung injury and pancreatitis, as well as in cancer immunotherapy. These are
conditions where the risk of death is extremely high, yet no effective treatments exist. CytoSorb® is also being used during and
after cardiac surgery to remove inflammatory mediators, such as cytokines and free hemoglobin, which can lead to post-operative
complications, including multiple organ failure. CytoSorbents has completed its REFRESH (REduction in FREe Hemoglobin) 1 trial –
a multi-center, randomized controlled study that has demonstrated the safety and efficacy of free hemoglobin reduction with
intra-operative CytoSorb® use in a heart-lung machine during complex cardiac surgery. In 2017, the company plans to
initiate a pivotal REFRESH 2 trial intended to support U.S. FDA approval. CytoSorb® has been used safely in more than
23,000 human treatments to date.
CytoSorbents' purification technologies are based on biocompatible, highly porous polymer beads that can actively remove toxic
substances from blood and other bodily fluids by pore capture and surface adsorption. Its technologies have received non-dilutive
grant, contract, and other funding in excess of $18 million from DARPA, the U.S. Army, the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), U.S. Special
Operations Command (SOCOM) and others. The Company has numerous products under development based upon this unique blood
purification technology, protected by 32 issued U.S. patents and multiple applications pending, including CytoSorb-XL,
HemoDefend™, VetResQ™, ContrastSorb, DrugSorb, and others. For more information, please visit the Company's websites at
www.cytosorbents.com and www.cytosorb.com or follow us on Facebook and Twitter
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to,
statements about our plans, objectives, representations and contentions and are not historical facts and typically are identified
by use of terms such as "may," "should," "could," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential,"
"continue" and similar words, although some forward-looking statements are expressed differently. You should be aware that the
forward-looking statements in this press release represent management's current judgment and expectations, but our actual
results, events and performance could differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors which could cause
or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, the risks discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed
with the SEC on March 3, 2017, as updated by the risks reported in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and in the press
releases and other communications to shareholders issued by us from time to time which attempt to advise interested parties of
the risks and factors which may affect our business. We caution you not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking
statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events, or otherwise, other than as required under the Federal securities laws.
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SOURCE CytoSorbents Corporation