Cardica, Inc. (Nasdaq:CRDC), manufacturer of the smallest-profile and most maneuverable articulating surgical stapling platform on the market for minimally invasive surgery, today announced that the company has changed its name to Dextera Surgical Inc. The company’s Nasdaq ticker symbol also will be changing, with its common stock to begin trading under the new ticker symbol “DXTR,” effective Wednesday, June 22.

The new name reflects an evolution for the device company. Dextera’s MicroCutter surgical stapling technology portfolio enables the advancement of minimally invasive and robotic-assisted surgery across a wide variety of clinical applications, broadening the company’s focus beyond its anastomotic product lines originally introduced for use in cardiac surgery.

“Today, we are helping to advance minimally invasive surgery around the world, with products that are helping surgeons operate more effectively in tight spaces through smaller incisions,” said Julian Nikolchev, president and CEO of Dextera. “Our newest technology is making an impact for patients in lung surgery, pediatric procedures and beyond, and the strategic focus of our business has expanded much further than the cardiac products for which our company was originally named. With a new management team and a clear vision forward, we’ve evolved as a company, and we think it’s time our name did too.”

“We love the name Dextera,” Nikolchev continued.  “It’s inspired by the word  ‘dexterity,’ which emphasizes skill, expertise, agility and finesse. These are qualities we see in our employees, our products and the surgeons who are advancing minimally invasive surgery through the use of smaller, more maneuverable stapling technology.”

It will take several weeks for all company materials, MicroCutter products and packaging to fully transition to the Dextera Surgical brand. During this time, some materials in some countries may continue to reference the Cardica name and logo.

The company’s automated anastomosis systems, the C-Port® Distal Anastomosis Systems and PAS-Port® Proximal Anastomosis System for coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, will continue to be marketed and sold by Dextera under the Cardica brand name. These products have demonstrated long-term reliable clinical performance and remain the only automated anastomosis devices for CABG surgery on the market today.

More information about Dextera can be found on the company’s new website, www.dexterasurgical.com.

About Dextera SurgicalDextera Surgical designs and manufactures proprietary stapling devices for minimally invasive surgical procedures. In the U.S., surgical staplers are routinely used in more than one million minimally invasive laparoscopic, video-assisted or robotic-assisted surgical procedures annually.

The company’s signature proprietary technology, the MicroCutter 5/80, is the world’s first and only five-millimeter surgical stapler that articulates to 80 degrees in each direction. As the smallest-profile articulating stapler available today, the MicroCutter 5/80 may reduce the amount of dissection and tissue handling required to position the stapler in confined spaces, enabling access to difficult-to-reach anatomy.  The cartridge-based device’s small size and wide articulation range is designed to enhance the surgeon’s access and visualization at the surgical site, and to mitigate limitations on the advancement of minimally invasive surgical approaches created by larger stapling devices.

MicroCutter Indication InformationThe MicroCutter 5/80 is manufactured and cleared for use in the United States for transection and resection in multiple open or minimally invasive urologic, thoracic and pediatric surgical procedures, as well as application for transection, resection and/or creation of anastomoses in the small and large intestine, and the transection of the appendix. The MicroCutter 5/80 White Cartridge staple has application in vascular tissue.

Forward-Looking StatementsThe statements in this press release regarding Dextera’s beliefs as to the benefits expected to be obtained from the use of the MicroCutter 5/80, are "forward-looking statements." There are a number of important factors that could cause results to differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements, including: that Dextera may not be successful in its efforts to complete the development of its combination device (designed to use two different size cartridges) or achieve optimization of Dextera’s supply chain for its combination device; that Dextera may not receive regulatory clearance for indications not currently cleared; as well as other risks detailed from time to time in the company's reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2016, under the caption “Risk Factors.” Dextera expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein. You are encouraged to read Dextera’s reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, available at www.sec.gov.

Contact:

Investors:
Bob Newell
Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer
(650) 331-7133
investors@cardica.com

Media:
Jessica Volchok
(310) 849-7985
jessica@nicoleosmer.com