




Healthcare Industry News: cell therapy
News Release - March 12, 2008
Advanced Cell Technology and Catholic Healthcare West Sign Clinical Agreement
Catholic Healthcare West to Become Advanced Cell Technology's First Clinical Trial Site for Phase II Myoblast StudyLOS ANGELES--(HSMN NewsFeed)--Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. (ACT) (OTCBB: ACTC ) announced today that it has signed a clinical trial agreement with Chandler Regional Medical Center and Mercy Gilbert Medical Center, members of Catholic Healthcare West (CHW), the nation’s eighth largest healthcare system, to become ACT’s first clinical trial sites for the Phase II myoblast study. In addition, CHW has received Institutional Review Board approval for the clinical trial, which is expected to begin soon. ACT’s myoblast program is an autologous adult stem cell therapy for the treatment of heart disease that has successfully completed four Phase I clinical trials and received clearance from the Food and Drug Administration to begin Phase II trials.
In November 2007, ACT and CHW announced that the two parties had entered into a letter of intent for a proposed exclusive business arrangement to establish a clinical trial research site and a North American regenerative medicine interventional cardiology training center for the Phase II clinical trial. The study, which will utilize 3-Dimensional Guided Catheter-Based Delivery of Autologous Skeletal Myoblasts for Ishemic Cardiomyopathy (CAuSMIC), will soon be open for enrollment. Led by principal investigator Nabil Dib, M.D., M.Sc., F.A.C.C., director of Cardiovascular Research for Chandler Regional Medical Center and Mercy Gilbert Medical Center, enrollment in the CAuSMIC trial will focus on patients who are not eligible for angioplasty or coronary artery bypass surgery, and who continue to have poor quality of life despite receiving optimal medical therapy or cardiac resynchronization therapy with a pacemaker or defibrillator device.
“The agreement with CHW signifies our readiness to begin the Phase II clinical trial,” said William M. Caldwell, IV, chairman and CEO of ACT. “We are excited to begin the trial, which has the potential to be a major advance for the field of regenerative medicine and, more importantly, to patients in need of care. We look forward to working with such a prominent healthcare group.”
“Currently, there are no treatment options available to correct heart failure, only those that can slow its progression,” said David G. Covert, president and CEO of the CHW East Valley Service Area and Chandler Regional Medical Center. According to Covert, Dr. Dib’s findings are the culmination of seven years of prior clinical work to demonstrate the safety and utility of taking a patient’s own muscle stem cells to repair heart muscle damage. “Chandler Regional Medical Center and Mercy Gilbert Medical Center are proud to participate in developing this innovative treatment option for people living with heart failure. As we continue to develop our research program, our main focus is to translate this type of research into bedside standard of care.”
About Catholic Healthcare West
Catholic Healthcare West (CHW) is the eighth largest hospital system in the nation and one of the largest not-for-profit hospital providers in the West. Founded in 1986, the CHW network of more than 8,500 physicians and approximately 50,000 employees serve a population spanning 22 million people at 43 hospitals across California, Arizona, and Nevada. CHW is committed to delivering compassionate, high-quality, affordable healthcare services with special attention to the poor and underserved. In fiscal year 2007, CHW provided $922 million in charity care, community benefits, and unreimbursed patient care. CHW facilities in Arizona include Chandler Regional Medical Center, Mercy Gilbert Medical Center, St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center and Barrow Neurological Institute, CHW Urgent Cares in Ahwatukee, Gilbert and Queen Creek, Sun Lakes Laboratory, Warner Outpatient Surgery and the Arizona Orthopedic Surgical Hospital. For more information, please visit our Website at www.chwHEALTH.org.
About Chandler Regional Medical Center
Chandler Regional Medical Center is a 225-bed, acute-care, non-for-profit provider of emergency care, maternal child services, cardiovascular services, wound healing, cancer treatment, diabetes treatment, and diagnostic services. It is located at 475 S. Dobson Road (corner of Dobson Road and Frye Road) in Chandler. For more information, please visit www.chandlerregional.org or call (480) 728-3000. Chandler Regional Medical Center is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE). For employment opportunities please contact the Human Resources Department at (480) 728-3424.
About Mercy Gilbert Medical Center
Mercy Gilbert Medical Center is located at the intersection of Val Vista Drive and Loop 202 (south of Pecos Road and east of Val Vista Drive). Mercy Gilbert Medical Center is a four-story, full-service acute-care facility with 182 beds. For more information, please visit www.mercygilbert.org or call (480) 728-8000. Mercy Gilbert Medical Center is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE). For employment opportunities please contact the Human Resources Department at (480) 728-8396.
About Advanced Cell Technology, Inc.
Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. is a biotechnology company applying cellular technology in the emerging field of regenerative medicine. The company operates facilities in California and Massachusetts.
For more information, visit www.advancedcell.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this news release regarding future financial and operating results, future growth in research and development programs, potential applications of our technology, opportunities for the company and any other statements about the future expectations, beliefs, goals, plans, or prospects expressed by management constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements that are not statements of historical fact (including statements containing the words "will," "believes," "plans," "anticipates," "expects," "estimates," and similar expressions) should also be considered to be forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements, including: limited operating history, need for future capital, risks inherent in the development and commercialization of potential products, protection of our intellectual property, and economic conditions generally. Additional information on potential factors that could affect our results and other risks and uncertainties are detailed from time to time in the company's periodic reports, including the report on Form 10-QSB for the quarter ended September 30, 2007. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, opinions, and expectations of the company's management at the time they are made, and the company does not assume any obligation to update its forward-looking statements if those beliefs, opinions, expectations, or other circumstances should change.
Source: Advanced Cell Technology
Issuer of this News Release is solely responsible for its
content.
Please address inquiries directly to the issuing company.