Organogenesis Inc. Announces Symposium for the Treatment of Chronic Wounds at EWMA Annual Conference in Switzerland

CANTON, Mass., May 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Organogenesis Switzerland GmbHwill sponsor a symposium on Apligraf®, a bilayered living cellular construct for the treatment of chronic wounds and soft tissue repair, at the upcoming European Wound Management Association (EWMA) conference.This will be thefirst symposium ever held in Europe on the use of an allogeneic living cellular construct in the treatment of chronic wounds.

At the symposium, titled "Advanced Living Cellular Construct Technology in Modern Wound Management,"and throughout the 20th Conference of the European Wound Management Association in Geneva, Switzerland, Organogenesis (booth 1453) will showcase its flagship product Apligraf, which is approved in Switzerland for chronic wounds and soft tissue repair. Additionally, two posters summarizing the clinical experience with Apligraf will be presented at the EWMA conference poster session.

"Apligraf is the most widely used cell based product in the U.S. for both diabetic foot ulcers and venous leg ulcers previously unresponsive to treatment. For more than two years, Swiss patients with non-healing wounds have been the first in Europe to benefit from this regenerative medicine therapy with human allogeneic cells," said Stefan Kalin, Managing Director of Organogenesis Switzerland GmbH.

Apligraf is the only bilayered living cellular construct technology that is fully reimbursed for treatment of chronic wounds in Switzerland. Clinical studies have shown that Apligraf in combination with a standard therapy is more efficient in healing diabetic foot ulcers or venous leg ulcers than standard therapy alone.(i), (ii)

"Patients suffering from diabetes or from chronic venous insufficiency often have open wounds that fail to heal. These may persist for several months or even years, and they significantly lower these patients' quality of life," said Dr. Damien Bates, M.D., Ph. D., F.R.A.C.S. (Plast.), and Chief Medical Officer at Organogenesis. "Apligraf has been shown to accelerate the rate of healing in these challenging chronic wounds of varying sizes and duration in multiple controlled clinical studies."

Two studies of Apligraf will be presented at the EWMA conference poster session: "Improvement and Modulation of Secondary Intention Healing Using a Bilayered Living Cell-Based Treatment" and "Persistence of Cells from Bilayered Living Cell-Based Treatment: Summary of Over 15 Years of Experience."

Over 300,000 Apligraf units have shipped to date, reaching patients around the world and making Organogenesis one of the world's most successful regenerative medicine companies.

"As pioneers in the translation of regenerative medicine technology, from visionary science to treatments used in everyday medical care, Organogenesis is proud to lead the way in introducing new allogeneic cell based treatments to patients around the world," explained Dr. Bates.

About Apligraf®

Apligraf® contains two layers of human living cells: an outer protective layer of differentiated keratinocytes and an inner layer of fibroblasts in a collagen matrix. When placed on a wound previously unresponsive to treatment, Apligraf provides cells, collagen matrix and other proteins that provide a covering that has been demonstrated to promote healing. In multiple controlled clinical studies, Apligraf has been shown to be an effective and safe wound care treatment, superior to conventional treatments.

About Organogenesis, Inc.

Having pioneered the field, Massachusetts based Organogenesis, Inc. is a leading regenerative medicine company focused in the areas of bioactive wound healing, oral regeneration and biosurgery. The company's mission is to bring the medical marvel of regenerative medicine products to patients and to standardize their use in everyday medical care. For more information, visit www.organogenesis.com.

(i) Veves A, Falanga V, Armstrong DG, Sabolinski ML. Diabetic Foot Ulcer Study Group. Graftskin, a human skin equivalent, is effective in the management of noninfected neuropathic diabetic foot ulcers: a prospective randomized multicenter clinical trial. Diabetes Care 2001; 24: 2905.

(ii)Falanga V, Sabolinski M. A bilayered living skin construct. (APLIGRAF) accelerates complete closure of hard-to-heal venous ulcers. Wound Rep Reg 1999; 7:210-207.

SOURCE Organogenesis

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