CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 13, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL), a leading developer of expanded autologous cell therapies for the treatment of patients with serious diseases and conditions, announced today that the company is hosting a symposium on the MACI® (autologous cultured chondrocytes on porcine collagen membrane) implant for treating articular cartilage defects in the knee at the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine’s 2017 Annual Meeting.
Symposium topics will include a review of MACI published clinical studies, patient case profiles, and a discussion of the regulatory approval process for MACI. Featured speakers include Daniël Saris, MD, PhD, Professor of Orthopedics at University Medical Center in Utrecht, Netherlands; Alison Toth, MD, Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina; Eric Strauss, MD, Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases in New York; Seth Sherman, MD, Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Missouri in Columbia; and David Recker, MD, Vericel’s chief medical officer.
The symposium, entitled “The MACI Implant for Treating Articular Cartilage Defects in the Knee,” is being held on Thursday, July 20, 2017 from 12:30 – 2:00 pm at the Metro Toronto Convention Center, 700 Level, Room 205.
To register for the symposium and for more information, go to: http://BIT.LY/AOSSM-MACI
Editor’s Note:
Vericel will have MACI information at Booth #619 at the AOSSM 2017 Annual Meeting.
About MACI
MACI® (autologous cultured chondrocytes on porcine collagen membrane) is an autologous cellular scaffold product that is indicated for the repair of symptomatic single or multiple full-thickness cartilage defects of the knee with or without bone involvement in adults. The MACI implant consists of autologous cultured chondrocytes seeded onto a resorbable Type I/III collagen membrane. Autologous cultured chondrocytes are human-derived cells which are obtained from the patient’s own cartilage for the manufacture of MACI.
Important Safety Information
- MACI is contraindicated in patients with a known history of hypersensitivity to gentamicin, other aminoglycosides, or products of porcine or bovine origin. MACI is also contraindicated for patients with severe osteoarthritis of the knee, inflammatory arthritis, inflammatory joint disease, or uncorrected congenital blood coagulation disorders. MACI is also not indicated for use in patients who have undergone prior knee surgery in the past six months, excluding surgery to procure a biopsy or a concomitant procedure to prepare the knee for a MACI implant.
- MACI is contraindicated in patients who are unable to follow a physician-prescribed post-surgical rehabilitation program. The safety of MACI in patients with malignancy in the area of cartilage biopsy or implant is unknown. Expansion of present malignant or dysplastic cells during the culturing process or implantation is possible.
- Patients undergoing procedures associated with MACI are not routinely tested for transmissible infectious diseases. A cartilage biopsy and MACI implant may carry the risk of transmitting infectious diseases to healthcare providers handling the tissue. Universal precautions should be employed when handling the biopsy samples and the MACI product.
About Articular Cartilage Defects of the Knee
Articular cartilage is a highly organized avascular tissue composed of chondrocytes embedded within an extracellular matrix of collagens, proteoglycans and noncollagenous proteins. Its primary function is to enable the smooth articulation of joint surfaces, and to cushion compressive, tensile and shearing forces. Articular cartilage damage is caused by both acute and repetitive trauma resulting in knee pain, effusion or mechanical symptoms such as catching and locking, and swelling. Since articular cartilage is avascular it has little capacity to repair itself or regenerate. Articular cartilage lesions that are left untreated may progress to debilitating joint pain, dysfunction, and osteoarthritis.1 The prevalence rate for cartilage lesions in the knee has been reported to be 63% in patients undergoing investigational arthroscopies.2
About Vericel Corporation
Vericel develops, manufactures, and markets autologous expanded cell therapies for the treatment of patients with serious diseases and conditions. The company markets two cell therapy products in the United States. Vericel is marketing MACI® (autologous cultured chondrocytes on porcine collagen membrane), an autologous cellularized scaffold product indicated for the repair of symptomatic, single or multiple full-thickness cartilage defects of the knee with or without bone involvement in adults. Carticel® (autologous cultured chondrocytes) is an autologous chondrocyte implant for the treatment of cartilage defects in the knee in patients who have had an inadequate response to a prior arthroscopic or other surgical repair procedure. Vericel is also marketing Epicel® (cultured epidermal autografts), a permanent skin replacement for the treatment of patients with deep dermal or full thickness burns greater than or equal to 30% of total body surface area. Vericel is developing ixmyelocel-T, an autologous multicellular therapy intended to treat advanced heart failure due to ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy. For more information, please visit the company’s website at www.vcel.com.
Epicel®, Carticel®, and MACI® are registered trademarks of Vericel Corporation. © 2017 Vericel Corporation. All rights reserved.
This document contains forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements concerning anticipated progress, objectives and expectations regarding the commercial potential of Vericel products, intended product development, clinical activity timing, regulatory process, and objectives and expectations regarding our company described herein, all of which involve certain risks and uncertainties. These statements are often, but are not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as “anticipates,” “intends,” “estimates,” “plans,” “expects,” “we believe,” “we intend,” and similar words or phrases, or future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “would,” “should,” “potential,” “can continue,” “could,” “may,” or similar expressions. Actual results may differ significantly from the expectations contained in the forward-looking statements. Among the factors that may result in differences are the inherent uncertainties associated with competitive developments, clinical trial and product development activities, regulatory approval requirements, estimating the commercial potential of our products and product candidates, market demand for our products, product performance, ability of ICT to obtain approval to transfer funds to the U.S., and our ability to supply or meet customer demand for our products. These and other significant factors are discussed in greater detail in Vericel’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on March 13, 2017, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other filings with the SEC. These forward-looking statements reflect management’s current views and Vericel does not undertake to update any of these forward-looking statements to reflect a change in its views or events or circumstances that occur after the date of this release except as required by law.
References
1Bedi A, Feeley BT, Williams RJ. Management of articular cartilage defects of the knee. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2010;92(4):994‑1009.
2Curl WW, Krome J, Gordon ES, Rushing J, Smith BP, Poehling GG. Cartilage injuries: a review of 31,516 knee arthroscopies. Arthroscopy. 1997;13(4):456-60.
Global Media Contacts:
David Schull
Russo Partners LLC
+1 212-845-4271 (office)
+1 858-717-2310 (mobile)
David.schull@russopartnersllc.com
Karen Chase
Russo Partners LLC
+1 646-942-5627 (office)
+1 917-547-0434 (mobile)
Karen.chase@russopartnersllc.com
Investor Contacts:
Chad Rubin
The Trout Group
crubin@troutgroup.com
+1 (646) 378-2947
Lee Stern
The Trout Group
lstern@troutgroup.com
+1 (646) 378-2922
