COMPANY'S FIRST-EVER NIH GRANT WILL BE USED TO DEVELOP CELL DELIVERY TECHNOLOGIES FOR REGENERATIVE MEDICINE APPLICATIONS
RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif., June 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ThermoGenesis Corp. , a leading supplier of innovative products for processing and storing adult stem cells, said today it has received a grant from the National Institute of Health (NIH) to study and develop biomaterials that can be used to deploy placental stem cells in bone repair and regenerative medicine applications.
The approximate $500,000, two-year grant, the Company's first-ever funding from the NIH, is a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Institute on Aging. The study will be conducted at the Company's stem cell research laboratory and through a collaboration with the University of California, Davis. The Company can apply for a Phase II grant once the work under this initial contract is completed.
"Being awarded this grant is an important milestone for the Company. These funds enable us to conduct exploratory research in animal models to identify the best methods of combining stem cells with biomaterials," noted Mel Engle, Chief Executive Officer of ThermoGenesis. "We will be using stem cell concentrates prepared by our AXP(TM) AutoXpress (AXP(TM)), MarrowXpress(TM) (MXP) and Res-Q(TM) cell separation technologies as well as cells derived from the placenta. The goal of this research is to provide an integrated cell processing and delivery system designed to achieve an optimal therapeutic effect in orthopedic applications, such as bone repair and generation." Engle said the Company's research is based upon the growing body of evidence which shows that the efficacy of stem cells for tissue regeneration and repair can be enhanced if the cells are presented to the body within bioengineered materials.
The AXP is used for the processing of stem cells from umbilical cord blood, while the Res-Q a point-of-care device scheduled for launch later this month and the MXP are used to prepare cell concentrates from bone marrow. The Res-Q Platform is also being studied for potential use in the preparation of platelet rich plasma (PRP) from peripheral blood.
About ThermoGenesis Corp.
ThermoGenesis Corp. (www.thermogenesis.com) is a leader in developing and manufacturing automated blood processing systems and disposable products that enable the manufacture, preservation and delivery of cell and tissue therapy products. These products include:
This press release contains forward-looking statements, and such statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Several factors, including timing of FDA approvals, changes in customer forecasts, our failure to meet customers' purchase order and quality requirements, supply shortages, production delays, changes in the markets for customers' products, introduction timing and acceptance of our new product scheduled for fiscal year 2009, and introduction of competitive products and other factors beyond our control, could result in a materially different revenue outcome and/or in our failure to achieve the revenue levels we expect for fiscal 2009. A more complete description of these and other risks that could cause actual events to differ from the outcomes predicted by our forward-looking statements is set forth under the caption "Risk Factors" in our annual report on Form 10-K and other reports we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time, and you should consider each of those factors when evaluating the forward-looking statements.
CONTACT: Investor Relations of ThermoGenesis Corp., +1-916-858-5107,
ir@thermogenesis.com
Web site: http://www.thermogenesis.com/
