HOLLISTON, Mass., April 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Biostage,
Inc. (Nasdaq: BSTG), ("Biostage" or the "Company"), a biotechnology
company developing bioengineered organ implants to treat
life-threatening conditions of the esophagus, bronchus and trachea,
today announced that it has appointed Stephen F. Badylak DVM, PhD,
MD to its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). Dr. Badylak joins
regenerative medicine and tissue engineering expert, Dr.
Joseph Vacanti as Co-Chairman.
Dr. Badylak is a Professor in the Department of Surgery, a
deputy director of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine
(MIRM), and directs a laboratory focused upon the use of biologic
scaffolds composed of extracellular matrix (ECM) to facilitate
functional tissue and organ reconstruction.
"Our goal is to build a preeminent SAB in order to leverage the
vast knowledge and expertise of those that are at the forefront of
leading a paradigm shift in treatments in the regenerative medicine
space. We are thrilled to have Dr. Badylak join our Scientific
Advisory Board as Co-Chairman," stated Saverio La Francesca, MD,
President and Chief Medical Officer of Biostage. "The expertise he
has amassed over the course of his career in the mechanisms by
which extracellular matrix signals host tissues to promote and
support functional tissue reconstruction will be invaluable as we
continue to advance our Cellframe technology, beginning with our
Cellspan Esophageal Implant."
Dr. Badylak received his DVM from Purdue
University. He then obtained an MS in Clinical Pathology and
a PhD in Anatomic Pathology from Purdue
University and graduated with highest honors with a MD from
Indiana University Medical School. He
began his academic career at Purdue
University as an Assistant Research Scholar at the
Hillenbrand Biomedical Engineering Center in 1983, and eventually
served as Director of the Center from 1993-1998. Dr. Badylak was
also a Senior Research Scientist within the Department of
Biomedical Engineering at Purdue
University. He is a charter member and the past President of
the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International
Society (TERMIS) and has served as the Chair of the Study Section
for the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) at the National
Institutes of Health (NIH), and as chair of the Bioengineering,
Technology, and Surgical Sciences (BTSS) Study Section at NIH. Dr.
Badylak is currently a member of the College of Scientific
Reviewers for the NIH.
Dr. Badylak holds over 60 U.S. patents, 300 patents worldwide,
has authored more than 350 scientific publications and 40 book
chapters. Dr. Badylak has served as Chairman or been a member of
the Scientific Advisory Board to several major medical device
companies. Dr. Badylak is a Fellow of the American Institute for
Medical and Biological Engineering, a charter member of the Tissue
Engineering Society International. He is also a member of the
Society for Biomaterials and editor in chief of the Journal of
Immunology and Regenerative Medicine. He has received many awards,
including the Sigma Xi Scientific Society 2002 Research Award, the
Pittsburgh Business Times Hero in Health Care Innovation &
Research for 2005, the 2005 and 2008 Carnegie Science Center Award
for Excellence, the 2005 Clemson Award
from the Society for Biomaterials, the Chancellor's Distinguished
Research Award in 2008, and the TERMIS (America's Chapter) Senior
Scientist Award in 2012.
Dr. Badylak commented, "I am excited to join the Biostage
Scientific Advisory Board as the Company prepares for its
first-in-human clinical trials. I believe that the Cellspan
Implants utilizing Biostage's Cellframe technology represent a
potential major advancement in the field of regenerative medicine
and I look forward to working closely with the Biostage team to
provide solutions and a higher quality of life for patients
affected with life-threatening conditions of the esophagus,
bronchus and trachea."
About Biostage
Biostage is a biotechnology company developing bioengineered
organ implants based on the Company's new Cellframe™
technology which combines a proprietary biocompatible scaffold with
a patient's own stem cells to create Cellspan™ organ
implants. Cellspan implants are being developed to treat
life-threatening conditions of the esophagus, bronchus or trachea
with the hope of dramatically improving the treatment paradigm for
patients. Based on its preclinical data, Biostage has selected
life-threatening conditions of the esophagus as the initial
clinical application of its technology.
Cellspan implants are currently being advanced and tested in
collaborative preclinical studies. Preclinical, large-animal safety
studies, conducted in compliance with the FDA Good Laboratory
Practice (GLP) regulations, for the Company's Cellspan Esophageal
Implant product candidate are ongoing, in support of Biostage's
goal of filing an Investigational New Drug application (IND) with
the U.S. FDA in the third quarter of 2017. The IND will seek
approval to initiate clinical trials for its esophageal implant
product candidate in humans.
For more information, please visit www.biostage.com and connect
with the Company on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Forward-Looking Statements:
Some of the statements in this press release are
"forward-looking" and are made pursuant to the safe harbor
provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
These "forward-looking" statements in this press release include,
but are not limited to, statements relating to the development
expectations and regulatory approval of any of our products,
including those utilizing our Cellframe technology, by the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration, the European Medicines Agency or
otherwise, which expectations or approvals may not be achieved or
obtained on a timely basis or at all; or success with respect to
any collaborations, clinical trials and other development and
commercialization efforts of our products, including those
utilizing our Cellframe technology, which such success may not
be achieved or obtained on a timely basis or at all. These
statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause results
to differ materially from the statements set forth in this press
release, including, among other things, our ability to obtain and
maintain regulatory approval for our products; plus other factors
described under the heading "Item 1A. Risk Factors" in our Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016 or described in our other
public filings. Our results may also be affected by factors of
which we are not currently aware. The forward-looking statements in
this press release speak only as of the date of this press release.
Biostage expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to
release publicly any updates or revisions to such statements to
reflect any change in its expectations with regard thereto or any
changes in the events, conditions or circumstances on which any
such statement is based.
Investor Relations
Contacts:
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Tom
McNaughton
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Jenene
Thomas
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Chief Financial
Officer
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Jenene Thomas
Communications LLC
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774-233-7321
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(908)
938-1475
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tmcnaughton@biostage.com
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jtc@jenenethomascommunications.com
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Media
Contacts:
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David Schull or
Maggie Beller
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Russo Partners
LLC
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212-845-4271 or
646-942-5631
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Email:
Maggie.beller@russopartnersllc.com
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SOURCE Biostage, Inc.