REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Sept. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Cardica, Inc. (Nasdaq: CRDC) today announced that it has signed a distribution agreement with Century Medical, the company’s distribution partner for its PAS-Port® Proximal Anastomosis System in Japan, for Cardica’s planned MicroCutter product line in Japan. Century Medical provided Cardica with a $4 million loan commitment in exchange for the distribution rights.
Under the terms of a secured note purchase agreement, Century has agreed to loan Cardica an aggregate of up to $4 million at a 5% annual interest rate, with principal due five years after the first draw by Cardica under the agreement, subject to certain conditions. Century’s obligation to provide the loan to Cardica is subject to MicroCutter development milestones that Cardica expects to achieve within the next several months. In return for the loan commitment, Cardica granted Century distribution rights to Cardica’s planned MicroCutter product line in Japan. Century will be responsible for securing regulatory approval from the Ministry of Health in Japan. After approval for marketing in Japan, Cardica would sell MicroCutter units to Century, who would then sell the MicroCutter devices to their customers in Japan.
“We believe the MicroCutter product line addresses many of the limitations of conventional laparoscopic surgical staplers,” said Mr. Akira Hoshino, president and chief executive officer of Century Medical. “We believe that Japan will be an ideal market for these innovative devices and look forward to working with Cardica in this significant market opportunity.”
“Century has been a tremendous partner for our PAS-Port system in Japan, and with their experience in the surgical stapling market, we believe they will be an ideal partner for our MicroCutter devices as well,” stated Bernard A. Hausen, M.D., Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Cardica. “In addition, the loan facility we’ve put in place should provide near-term cash for funding continued development and commercialization in Europe and the United States.”
About Cardica
Cardica designs and manufactures proprietary stapling and anastomotic devices for cardiac and laparoscopic surgical procedures. Cardica’s technology portfolio is intended to minimize operating time and enable minimally-invasive and robot-assisted surgeries. Cardica manufactures and markets its automated anastomosis systems, the C-Port® Distal Anastomosis Systems and PAS-Port® Proximal Anastomosis System, for coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery and has shipped over 36,000 units throughout the world. In addition, Cardica is developing the Cardica MicroCutter XPRESS 30, a true multi-fire endoscopic stapling device designed to be used in a variety of procedures, including bariatric, colorectal, thoracic and general surgery. The Cardica MicroCutter products require 510(k) review and are not yet commercially available in the U.S.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking” statements, including all statements regarding the further development of Cardica’s MicroCutter product line and Cardica’s ability to satisfy the milestones that are conditions to Century’s loan obligation. Any statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. The words “will,” “would” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause Cardica’s results to differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements, including that any future Cardica products face development, regulatory, reimbursement and manufacturing risks, as well as other risks detailed from time to time in Cardica’s reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2011. Cardica expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein. You are encouraged to read Cardica’s reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, available at www.sec.gov.
SOURCE Cardica, Inc.
