CytoSorbents Sponsors Sepsis Heroes Gala in Honor of World Sepsis Day

MONMOUTH JUNCTION, N.J., Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- CytoSorbents Corporation (NASDAQ: CTSO), a leader in critical care immunotherapy using its CytoSorb® blood purification technology to help patients survive sepsis and other life-threatening inflammatory conditions, announced its sponsorship of tonight's sold-out Fifth Annual Sepsis Heroes Gala hosted by the Sepsis Alliance at Arena NYC in New York City.  Scheduled to coincide with World Sepsis Day that is organized by the Global Sepsis Alliance, the purpose of Sepsis Heroes is to honor people and organizations that have made a significant contribution to sepsis awareness and education among both the general public and healthcare professionals. 

CytoSorbents is a proud long-term sponsor of this event and applauds the efforts of this year's honorees including:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

• Martin Doerfler, MD - Associate Chief Medical Officer at Northwell Health and a leading advocate for sepsis awareness and education.
• Lisa Bartlett (Davis) – Sepsis advocate who started community awareness events in Illinois and Colorado after the death of her husband to sepsis.
• Tom Ahrens, PhD – Nurse educator and leader in educating nurses on sepsis best practices.
• Hillary Spangler – Sepsis survivor who has gone on to medical school and is an advocate for sepsis education and awareness.
• Kennedy Health System – Philadelphia-area hospital system that has demonstrated a system-wide commitment to improving treatment and outcomes from sepsis.

In addition, CytoSorbents commends Audrey Leishman and the Begin Again Foundation as the first recipient of the Erin Kay Flatley Spirit Award, given in memory of Erin Kay Flatley, a 23-year-old aspiring teacher who died unnecessarily of sepsis after a routine surgery.  Audrey started the Begin Again Foundation in 2015 following her survival from sepsis. The foundation provides financial support to families struggling from their loss or disability from sepsis, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), or toxic shock syndrome (TSS).

Sepsis is a medical emergency caused by the overzealous immune response to a serious infection, driven by "cytokine storm" and destructive bacterial toxins.  This causes widespread deadly inflammation that can precipitate multiple organ failure, immune paralysis, and death.  According to the Global Sepsis Alliance, sepsis afflicts 30 million people each year worldwide, and kills someone every few seconds, despite the use of antibiotics.  

CytoSorbents continues to advance CytoSorb® as one of the only safe, broad spectrum therapies to treat sepsis and other critical illnesses where uncontrolled inflammation plays a deadly role. Unlike other therapies, CytoSorb® attacks sepsis from multiple angles, working to reduce cytokine storm and harmful bacterial toxins, while helping to stabilize hemodynamics and redirect immune cells to better fight infection.  CytoSorb® is approved in the European Union and distributed in 38 countries worldwide, but is not yet approved in the U.S.

About CytoSorbents Corporation (NASDAQ: CTSO)

CytoSorbents Corporation is a leader in critical care immunotherapy, specializing in blood purification. Its flagship product, CytoSorb® is approved in the European Union with distribution in 38 countries around the world, as a safe and effective extracorporeal cytokine adsorber, designed to reduce the "cytokine storm" or "cytokine release syndrome" that could otherwise cause massive inflammation, organ failure and death in common critical illnesses such as sepsis, burn injury, trauma, lung injury and pancreatitis, as well as in cancer immunotherapy. These are conditions where the risk of death is extremely high, yet no effective treatments exist. CytoSorb® is also being used during and after cardiac surgery to remove inflammatory mediators, such as cytokines and free hemoglobin, which can lead to post-operative complications, including multiple organ failure. CytoSorbents is in the process of completing its REFRESH (REduction in FREe Hemoglobin) 1 trial - a multi-center, randomized controlled study evaluating the safety of intra-operative CytoSorb® use in a heart-lung machine during complex cardiac surgery.  In early 2017, the company plans to initiate a pivotal REFRESH 2 trial intended to support U.S. FDA approval.  CytoSorb® has been used safely in more than 14,000 human treatments to date.

CytoSorbents' purification technologies are based on biocompatible, highly porous polymer beads that can actively remove toxic substances from blood and other bodily fluids by pore capture and surface adsorption. Its technologies have received non-dilutive grant and contract funding in excess of $18 million from DARPA, the U.S. Army, the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) and others. The Company has numerous products under development based upon this unique blood purification technology, protected by 32 issued U.S. patents and multiple applications pending, including CytoSorb-XL, HemoDefend™, ContrastSorb, DrugSorb and others.  For more information, please visit the Company's websites:  http://www.cytosorbents.com and http://www.cytosorb.com or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

About the Global Sepsis Alliance

The Global Sepsis Alliance (GSA) is a non-profit organization supporting the efforts of over 1 million caregivers in more than 70 countries as they seek to better understand and combat what many experts believe to be the leading cause of death worldwide: sepsis. The GSA has rallied the Global Sepsis Community to elevate public, philanthropic and governmental awareness, understanding and support of sepsis and to accelerate collaboration among researchers, clinicians, associated working groups and those dedicated to supporting them.

About the Sepsis Alliance™ and Sepsis Heroes Gala

The Sepsis Alliance is a charitable organization run by a team of dedicated laypeople and professionals who share a strong commitment to battling sepsis.  The goal is to raise awareness of sepsis through information and educational material so it can be detected and treated early enough that no harm is done.  The Sepsis Heroes Gala is an award reception, being held in New York City, designed to raise awareness of sepsis and to recognize the unique contributions of individuals who have committed their time and energy for the cause.  For more information, visit www.sepsisalliance.org

About World Sepsis Day

World Sepsis Day is an initiative of the Global Sepsis Alliance (GSA) and its founding non-profit members:  The World Federation of Societies of Intensive and Critical Care Medicine, the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies, the World Federation of Critical Care Nurses, the International Sepsis Forum, and the Sepsis Alliance.  The goals of World Sepsis Day are to:

• Reduce the incidence of sepsis through effective prevention strategies
• Increase sepsis survival rates for all population groups around the world
• Provide better access to suitable rehabilitation services for people everywhere
• Increase awareness and understanding of sepsis among healthcare professionals and the general public

For more information, visit www.world-sepsis-day.org

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about our plans, objectives, representations and contentions and are not historical facts and typically are identified by use of terms such as "may," "should," "could," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "continue" and similar words, although some forward-looking statements are expressed differently. You should be aware that the forward-looking statements in this press release represent management's current judgment and expectations, but our actual results, events and performance could differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors which could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, the risks discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on March 9, 2016, as updated by the risks reported in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and in the press releases and other communications to shareholders issued by us from time to time which attempt to advise interested parties of the risks and factors which may affect our business. We caution you not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, other than as required under the Federal securities laws.

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Cytosorbents Contact:
Investor Relations 
(732) 329-8885 ext. *825
[email protected]

Public Relations Contact:
Amy Phillips     
Pascale Communications     
412-327-9499     
[email protected] 

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SOURCE CytoSorbents Corporation

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