Harvard Apparatus Regenerative Technology, Connecticut Children’s Medical Center Collaborate To Develop Bioengineered Pediatric Esophageal Solutions

HOLLISTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Harvard Apparatus Regenerative Technology, Inc., (NASDAQ: HART), or HART, a biotechnology company developing bioengineered organs for life threatening conditions, has entered into an agreement with Connecticut Children’s Medical Center (Connecticut Children’s) on a pre-clinical collaboration to develop an innovative process for repairing or replacing the esophagus to treat life-threatening pediatric conditions such as esophageal atresia.

“We are proud to continue and expand our collaboration with Connecticut Children’s Medical Center to develop new treatment options for children using regenerative medicine principles”

“We are proud to continue and expand our collaboration with Connecticut Children’s Medical Center to develop new treatment options for children using regenerative medicine principles,” said Jim McGorry, President and CEO of HART. “Dr. Christine Finck and her team are recognized leaders in the regenerative medicine community, well-known for their passion and commitment to bringing new treatments to children and their families.”

This collaboration combines the complementary strengths of HART and Connecticut Children’s in a unique pre-clinical program designed to accelerate development efforts of new treatment options. HART’s contribution will focus on 3-Dorgan scaffold development, using their expertise in materials science and tissue engineering, as well as their team’s skills and experience in surgery and biology. Dr. Finck, Chief of the Division of Pediatric Surgery, and her research team are focused on bringing to the clinic bioengineered scaffolds that use a patient’s own cells to repair or replace the esophagus, using their skills in tissue engineering, cell therapy and surgery

“Utilizing the principles of regenerative medicine has shown significant potential to provide additional treatment options and improve care for patients,” said Dr. Finck. “By working with the HART team to utilize a bioengineered organ scaffold, we are working to develop a process that will allow a child’s esophagus to be repaired or replaced to address life-threatening conditions.”

Esophageal atresia (EA) is a rare condition, affecting 1 in 2,500 to 3,500 babies, in which a child is born without a portion of his or her esophagus. The esophagus is the tube that connects the mouth to the stomach. With this condition, infants are usually unable to eat or drink normally given their difficulty swallowing and they also may have trouble breathing. Current treatment is usually surgery to connect the ends of the esophagus and close the gap. However, in some cases, too much of the esophagus is missing, and traditional surgical techniques do not work. This is known as long-gap esophageal atresia.

Intellectual property, including patented inventions, stemming from the collaboration owned jointly or by Connecticut Children’s will be licensed by Connecticut Children’s to HART on an exclusive basis for commercial development. With this collaboration, Connecticut Children’s and HART will focus on translating bench research into treatments that can directly benefit the children who need them.

About Harvard Apparatus Regenerative Technology
Harvard Apparatus Regenerative Technology is a biotechnology company developing bioengineered organs for life-threatening conditions. The Company’s technology initially is focused on restoring organ function to a patient’s airways or esophagus.

About Connecticut Children’s Medical Center Regenerative Technology
Dr. Christine Finck and Connecticut Children’s Medical Center focus their regenerative research on cell therapy and tissue engineering options for clinical treatment. A patient’s own cells are used in the solutions being developed, thereby reducing the rejection response and potential need for long-term immunosuppression.

About Connecticut Children’s Medical Center
Connecticut Children’s Medical Center is a nationally recognized, 187-bed not-for-profit children’s hospital serving as the primary teaching hospital for the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. Named among the best in the nation in the annual U.S. News & World Report “Best Children’s Hospitals” rankings, Connecticut Children’s is the only free-standing children’s hospital in Connecticut that offers comprehensive, world-class health care to children. Our pediatric services are available at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford and at Saint Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury, with neonatal intensive care units at Hartford Hospital and the University of Connecticut Health Center, along with a state-of-the-art ambulatory surgery center, five specialty care centers and 10 other locations across the state. Connecticut Children’s has a medical staff of nearly 1,100 practicing in more than 30 specialties.

For more information, visit www.connecticutchildrens.org or connect with us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/connecticutchildrens and Twitter at www.twitter.com/ctchildrens.

Forward-Looking Statements
Some of the statements in this press release are "forward-looking" and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These "forward-looking" statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the success with respect to any collaborations and related development efforts pertaining to a regenerated esophagus and related intellectual property; and clinical trials and other regulatory approval efforts, commercialization efforts and marketing approvals of HART’s products as well as the success thereof, including any products pertaining to the airway or esophagus, which such success or approvals may not be achieved or obtained on a timely basis or at all. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause results to differ materially from the statements set forth in this press release, including, among other things, factors described under the heading “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in HART’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2014 or described in HART’s other public filings. HART’s results may also be affected by factors of which we are not currently aware. The forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release. HART expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to such statements to reflect any change in its expectations with regard thereto or any changes in the events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.