LA JOLLA, Calif., June 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Advanced Tissue Sciences, Inc.
(Nasdaq: ATIS), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Children's
Hospital, Boston, announced today the issuance of three U.S. patents covering
the growth of vascularized human tissues or organs on three-dimensional
biocompatible, biodegradable and nonbiodegradable polymer scaffolds inside the
body (in vivo). Advanced Tissue Sciences has license rights to these patents
with respect to a broad range of tissues and organs. These patents complement
Advanced Tissue Sciences' core patents covering the growth of tissues outside
the body (ex vivo) and expand its opportunity to develop tissue engineered
products. Research using this technology on a wide variety of tissues and
organs has been described in more than 400 scientific publications and
presentations over the last eight years.
Under the technology described in the three patents
(Patent Nos. 5,759,830; 5,770,193; 5,770,417), vascularized tissues are grown
by first seeding cells on a scaffold and then implanting the cell-scaffold in
the patient at the site in need of tissue repair or replacement. Over time,
the cells grow into a fully functional tissue using the body as the incubator.
"Tissue engineering, the science of creating new tissues and organs for
transplantation, has already successfully produced products which are helping
patients worldwide. The combination of our original patents and these newly
issued patents provide us the technology platform to grow tissues both inside
and outside the body," said Gail K. Naughton, Ph.D., President and Chief
Operating Officer of Advanced Tissue Sciences. "These patents provide us with
the opportunity to develop tissue engineered products in a way that benefits
the patient and can be cost effective."
Advanced Tissue Sciences, Inc. is a tissue engineering company utilizing
its proprietary core technology to develop and manufacture human tissue
products for tissue repair and transplantation. The Company currently has two
products in the market, Dermagraft(R), a living, permanent dermal replacement
for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers (currently available in Canada and
the UK), and Dermagraft-TC(R), a temporary covering for full and
partial-thickness burns. In addition to Dermagraft and Dermagraft-TC, the
Company also is developing products for cartilage and cardiovascular
applications.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is one of the world's
outstanding universities. In 1997-98 it has 9,880 students from all 50
states, the District of Columbia, three territories and 108 foreign countries.
Eleven members of the MIT faculty and an MIT physician are Nobel laureates.
MIT routinely leads all U.S. universities in patents granted and signs about
70 license agreements with private companies each year.
Children's Hospital, Boston, is the nation's leading pediatric medical
center offering a complete range of health services for patients from birth
through age twenty-one and is the primary pediatric teaching hospital of
Harvard Medical School, the world's premier pediatric research facility.
Representative samples of peer reviewed publications describing the
technology covered by these patents include:
Uyama S, Kaufmann P, Takeda T, Vacanti JP: Delivery of whole liver-
equivalent hepatocyte mass using polymer devices and hepatotrophic
stimulation. Transplantation 1993; 55: 932.
Organ GM, Mooney DJ, Hansen LK, Schloo B, Vacanti JP: Design and
transplantation of enterocyte-polymer constructs: A small animal model for
neointestinal replacement in short bowel syndrome. American College of
Surgeons 1993 Surgical Forum Volume XLIV.
Mooney DJ, Breuer C, McNamara K, Vacanti JP, Langer R: Fabricating tubular
devices from polymers of lactic glycolic acid for tissue engineering. Tissue
Engineering 1995; 1: 107.
Vacanti CA, Kim W, Upton J, Vacanti MP, Mooney D, Schloo B, Vacanti JP:
Tissue engineered growth of bone and cartilage. Transplantation Proceedings
1993; 25: 1019.
Cao Y, Vacanti JP, Ma X, Paige KT, Upton J, Chowanski Z, Schloo B, Langer
R, Vacanti CA: The generation of neo-tendon using synthetic polymers seeded
with tenocytes. Abstract.
The discussion contained in this press release relating to the development
and commercialization of products involves risks and uncertainties. No
assurance can be given that the patents referred to in this release or any
other patents of Advanced Tissue Sciences will afford protection against
competitors with similar technologies or processes, or that any such patents
will not be infringed upon or designed around by others, or that the Company
will successfully develop additional products, obtain further regulatory
approvals of products (or that any such approvals will be obtained in a timely
basis), complete clinical trials, scale up manufacturing processes, launch its
products within indicated timeframes, or commercialize or significantly
penetrate the market for any of its products. These and other risks are
detailed in the Company's publicly available filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K. Actual results
may differ materially from those currently anticipated as a result of such
risks.
SOURCE Advanced Tissue Sciences, Inc.
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fax, 800-758-5804, ext. 532975
CONTACT:
Investor/Media Contacts: Jack Strube,
Executive Director, Finance, 619-450-5802, or Dawn Applegate,
Ph.D., Senior Manager, Medical Affairs, 619-450-5724, both of
Advanced Tissue Sciences; or Media Contacts: Elizabeth Thomson,
Assistant Director, Science & Engineering News, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology News Office, 617-258-5402; or Susan
Craig, Media Relations Specialist, Children's Hospital, Boston,
617-355-8834
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