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AMORCYTE CLOSES $4.2 MILLION SERIES A FINANCING
Financing to fund 40-patient cardiovascular cell therapy trial
HACKENSACK, New Jersey - (June 19, 2006) - Amorcyte Inc (Amorcyte), a privately funded biotechnology company developing cell therapy products to treat cardiovascular disease, announced today the conclusion of a $4.2 million first round of financing to fund its initial phase I clinical trial.
Colt Ventures, LLC, a Dallas-based venture capital firm, served as lead investor for this financing. Colt Ventures focuses on life sciences, technology, and natural resources.
Darren Blanton, Colt Ventures' managing partner, stated, "We are excited to be affiliated with this project as we recognize its significant potential for treating patients who have suffered heart attacks. This is a strategic beginning in our pursuit of cell therapy for cardiovascular diseases".
"This financing is a strong indication of support for our business plan and is the first step in our strategy to develop cell-based therapies to treat cardiovascular disease that are deliverable on a commercial scale and reimbursed by insurance", said Amorcyte's Chairman of the Board, Dr. Andrew L. Pecora.
This 40-patient clinical trial is designed to determine safety and measure meaningful biologic activity. Unique to this trial are the pre-determined measures for assessing the effect of various stem cell dosages. Final trial results are expected in approximately 12-18 months.
The Phase I trial is now open at Emory University School of Medicine, where patients are already being screened for trial eligibility by the Principal Investigator, Arshed A. Quyyumi, M.D., FRCP, FACC. Amorcyte is in final negotiations to open the trial in another leading cardiology center within 90 days.
It is estimated there are approximately 1.1 million instances of acute myocardial infarction, 12 million cases of chronic ischemia, and 5 million occurrences of congestive heart failure in the United States per year. A significant percentage of these patients are in need of additional therapies to ameliorate the symptoms of their disease. Products including AMR-001 are now under active investigation to determine safety and potential biologic activity.
Amorcyte expects to enroll its first patients in June and is actively recruiting patients for the trial.
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