Cardium Announces Publication On Use Of Excellagen For Managing Chronic Pressure Ulcers In Elderly Patients

SAN DIEGO, Nov. 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Cardium Therapeutics (NYSE MKT: CXM) today announced the publication of a case study, "Serial Sharp Debridement and Formulated Collagen Gel to Treat Pressure Ulcers in Elderly Long-term Care Patients", in the peer-reviewed November 2013 issue of Ostomy Wound Management Ostomy Wound Manage. 2013;59(11):43–49.   The electronic publication of the study is available at http://www.o-wm.com/article/serial-sharp-debridement-and-formulated-collagen-gel-treat-pressure-ulcers-elderly-long-term.  The paper highlights Excellagen's capability of promoting rapid granulation and healing in chronic pressure ulcers in elderly long-term care facility residents.

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The study involved patients with chronic, non-healing pressure ulcers of over 18 months duration, despite the use of a variety of treatments, including negative pressure wound therapy.  The weekly treatment regimen consisted of sharp debridement and application of Cardium's advanced wound care product, Excellagen.  All patients studied exhibited significant formation of new granulation tissue within their previously non-healing pressure wounds, which led to either complete wound closure or substantial wound reduction within 5 to 6 weeks of treatment.  The study also gathered feedback from the study nurses via questionnaire.  The study nurses agreed that weekly use of Excellagen "required less time and was more compatible with their busy schedules than standard care of daily (or multiple times daily) dressing changes." 

The study's co-author, Jennifer K. Agosti, RN, Certified Wound Care Associate and Certified Foot and Nail Care Nurse, and the President of Nurse Sharks, Inc., a company focused on wound care management and infection control in long-term care facilities, stated, "I was impressed with the response to Excellagen and the dramatic speed of granulation tissue growth in these chronic wounds which had not responded to multiple other treatment interventions for over 18 months.  We believe Excellagen is a potential cost-effective therapy for the treatment of pressure ulcers and although not included in the paper, we calculated that the total costs of the previous year of treatment in these patients compared to Excellagen ranged between $10,800 and $16,500 per patient."

Lois A. Chandler, PhD, Cardium's Vice President, Biologics Development and co-author of the article, stated "We appreciate the contributions of the team at Nurse Sharks and look forward to the opportunity to work together on ongoing and additional case studies for the treatment of non-healing pressure ulcers in long-term care patients.  These complex and challenging wounds are generally difficult to heal, and long-term care facilities represent a setting where the cost- and resource-effectiveness of Excellagen can provide significant benefits to both the patient and the facility."

According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, more than 2.5 million people in the U.S. develop pressure ulcers, and approximately 60,000 patients die annually as a result of them.  Lawsuits related to pressure ulcers total 17,000 annually and account for the most common claim after wrongful death.  Despite best efforts to implement guidelines for the prediction and prevention of ulcers, the prevalence remains high in long-term care facility residents.  In the acute care and long-term care settings, pressure ulcers affect more than one million patients and the annual costs of treating pressure ulcers are projected to be between $1.3 billion and $6.8 billion.

About Ostomy Wound Management

Ostomy Wound Management was founded in March of 1980 as "Ostomy Management." In 1985, the journal expanded its content and readership by embracing the overlapping disciplines of ostomy care, wound care, incontinence care, and related skin and nutritional issues, and became the premier journal of its kind.  Ostomy Wound Management's readers include healthcare professionals from multiple disciplines and its readers benefit from contemporary and comprehensive review and research papers that are practical, clinically oriented, and cutting edge.  Each published article undergoes a rigorous double-blind peer review by members of both the Editorial Advisory Board and the Ad-Hoc Peer Review Panel.  More information is located at http://www.o-wm.com/.

About Excellagen

Excellagen is a syringe-based, professional-use, pharmaceutically-formulated 2.6% fibrillar Type I bovine collagen homogenate that functions as an acellular biological modulator to activate the wound healing process and significantly accelerate the growth of granulation tissue.  Excellagen's FDA clearance provides for very broad labeling including partial and full-thickness wounds, pressure ulcers, venous ulcers, diabetic ulcers, chronic vascular ulcers, tunneled/undermined wounds, surgical wounds (donor sites/graft, post-Mohs surgery, post-laser surgery, podiatric, wound dehiscence), trauma wounds (abrasions, lacerations, second-degree burns and skin tears) and draining wounds.  Excellagen is intended for professional use following standard debridement procedures in the presence of blood cells and platelets, which are involved with the release of endogenous growth factors.  Excellagen's unique fibrillar Type I bovine collagen homogenate formulation is topically applied through easy-to-control, pre-filled, sterile, single-use syringes and is designed for application at only one-week intervals.  Additional information about Excellagen is available at www.excellagen.com.

About Cardium         

Cardium is an asset-based health sciences and regenerative medicine company focused on the acquisition and strategic development of innovative products and businesses with the potential to address significant unmet medical needs and having definable pathways to commercialization, partnering or other economic monetizations. Cardium has four private company business units in its medical opportunities portfolio: (1) LifeAgain^® Insurance Solutions, Inc., which is focused on the development and commercialization of its medical data analytics platform, including the Company's recently-launched BlueMetric Select term life insurance program for men with prostate cancer; (2) Angionetic Therapeutics™, which includes Cardium's late-stage DNA-based Generx^® cardiovascular biologic product candidate; (3) Activation Therapeutics™, which includes the Company's regenerative medicine wound healing technology platform, including its Excellagen^® advanced wound care product; and (4) To Go Brands^®, which includes the Company's health sciences and nutraceutical business.  In addition, consistent with its capital-efficient business model, Cardium continues to actively evaluate new technologies and business opportunities. For more information, visit www.cardiumthx.com.

Forward-Looking Statements  

Except for statements of historical fact, the matters discussed in this press release are forward looking and reflect numerous assumptions and involve a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control and may cause actual results to differ materially from stated expectations.  For example, there can be no assurance that results or trends observed in a clinical study or follow-on case studies will be reproduced in subsequent studies or in actual use; that new clinical studies will be successful or will lead to approvals or clearances from health regulatory authorities, or that approvals in one jurisdiction will help to support studies or approvals elsewhere; that our partners will be successful in obtaining the necessary approvals or clearances from international health authorities or they can successfully commercialize Excellagen; that the company can attract suitable commercialization partners for our products or that we or partners can successfully commercialize them; that our product or product candidates will not be unfavorably compared to competitive products that may be regarded as safer, more effective, easier to use or less expensive or blocked by third party proprietary rights or other means; that the products and product candidates referred to in this report or in our other reports will be successfully commercialized and their use reimbursed, or will enhance our market value; that new product opportunities or commercialization efforts will be successfully established; that third parties on whom we depend will perform as anticipated; that we can raise sufficient capital from partnering, monetization or other fundraising transactions to maintain our stock exchange listing or adequately fund ongoing operations; or that we will not be adversely affected by these or other risks and uncertainties that could impact our operations, business or other matters, as described in more detail in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to release publicly the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances arising after the date hereof.

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Cardium Therapeutics^®, Generx^®,  Excellagen^®, LifeAgain^®, BlueMetric™, Decision Rule Adaption™, ADAPT™, Angionetic Therapeutics™, Activation Therapeutics™ are trademarks of Cardium Therapeutics, Inc. or Tissue Repair Company.  To Go Brands^®,  High Octane^®, Green Tea Energy Fusion™, Acai Natural Energy Boost™, Greens to Go^®, Extreme Berries to Go^®, Healthy Belly^®, VitaRocks^®, Smoothie Complete^®, Trim Green Coffee Bean™, and Trim Energy^®, are trademarks of To Go Brands, Inc.  Other trademarks belong to their respective owners.

SOURCE Cardium Therapeutics