CALGARY, AB--(Marketwired - June 15, 2015) - Hemostemix Inc. (the "Corporation") (TSX VENTURE: HEM), a clinical-stage autologous cell-therapy company, announced today that its vice president of clinical research and operations, Hardean E. Achneck, MD, is an invited speaker at the Gordon Research Conference on Assisted Circulation held June 14-19, 2015, in Lucca, Italy. His presentation, entitled "Creating Biological Blood Contacting Surfaces," explores a potential autologous cell therapy to reduce blood clotting in patients with an artificial heart or a heart-supporting pump.
According to Dr. Achneck, the challenge in treating patients with advanced heart failure is that the demand for a heart transplant, the best therapy, exceeds the supply of donor organs by nearly 50-fold in North America. For this reason, artificial hearts and heart-supporting pumps have become the most promising alternative therapies to date, though these solutions are not without complications. For example, when an artificial heart or a heart-supporting pump is implanted, a patient's blood responds to the foreign body by clotting, which increases the risks of stroke and even death. A potential game-changing solution is to coat the internal surfaces of any hardware with the patient's own blood-derived stem cells, which might help reduce the clotting response and lower the risk of stroke. The Hemostemix lead product ACP-01 may be able to play a role in helping to achieve such surface coatings.
"It is a great honor to present potential solutions for heart failure to some of the world's most famous heart surgeons and cardiologists as well as to introduce the current Hemostemix phase-2 clinical trial of ACP-01 for the treatment of critical limb ischemia," said Dr. Achneck, who has more than a decade of research experience in blood-derived endothelial progenitor cells from his previous positions as assistant professor of surgery and pathology at Duke University Medical Center and assistant professor of cardiovascular and metabolic disorders at Duke-National University of Singapore in Southeast Asia.
About Gordon Research Conferences
Gordon Research Conferences were initiated by Dr. Neil E. Gordon, of the Johns Hopkins University, who recognized in the late 1920s the difficulty in establishing good, direct communication between scientists, whether working in the same subject area or in interdisciplinary research. Gordon Research Conferences promote discussions and the free exchange of ideas at the research frontiers of the biological, chemical, and physical sciences. The world's most distinguished scientists with common professional interests come together for a full week of intense discussion and examination of the most advanced aspects of their field. These Conferences provide a valuable means of disseminating information and ideas in a way that cannot be achieved through the usual channels of communication -- publications and presentations at large scientific meetings. For more information about the Gordon Research Conference on Assisted Circulation, visit www.grc.org/programs.aspx?id=13095.
About Hemostemix
Hemostemix is a public clinical-stage biotechnology company that develops and commercializes innovative blood-derived cell therapies for medical conditions not adequately addressed by current treatments. It is the first clinical-stage biotech company to test a potential breakthrough stem-cell therapy in an international, multicenter, phase-2 clinical trial for patients with critical limb ischemia (CLI), a severe form of peripheral artery disease (PAD) caused by reduced blood flow to the legs. The phase-2 trial targets a participant's diseased tissue with proprietary cells that are grown from his or her blood and capable of supporting the formation of new blood vessels. Hemostemix currently enrolls participants in the phase-2 trial at four sites in South Africa and two sites in Canada.
Hemostemix Inc. is traded on the TSX Venture Exchange under the trading symbol HEM. For more information, visit hemostemix.com or email office@hemostemix.com.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange, Inc. nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined under the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "potential," and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will," "would," "may," "could," or "should" occur. Although Hemostemix believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of Hemostemix management on the date such statements were made. Hemostemix expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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