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news.Cardium Therapeutics has acquired the wound-healing technology and related assets of the Tissue Repair Company, a privately-held company focused on the development of growth factor therapeutics for the potential treatment of tissue wounds.
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The Tissue Repair Company’s (TRC) growth factor therapeutics have the potential to help heal tissue wounds such as dermal ulcers, which affect millions of diabetic patients. The assets acquired by Cardium also include TRC technologies applicable to the treatment of ischemic heart disease.
Cardium has acquired TRC’s lead product candidate, Excellarate, a DNA-activated collagen gel for topical treatment that is initially being developed as a single administration for the treatment of non-healing, neuropathic diabetic foot ulcers. The Excellarate topical gel is designed to stimulate angiogenesis and granulation tissue formation through the recruitment and proliferation of chemotactic cells such as monocytes and fibroblasts, which are necessary for the stimulation of a variety of wound-healing processes.
Excellarate has been evaluated in an initial multi-center phase I/II clinical trial that evaluated preliminary safety and included an assessment of healing in 15 patients having diabetic foot ulcers that did not heal using conventional techniques. Based on the data obtained, Excellarate appeared to be safe and well tolerated in patients with diabetic foot ulcers.
In addition, in the 12 patients that completed the treatment protocol and follow-up, over 80% of patients exhibited complete closure of previously non-healing wounds by 14 weeks.
Based on the prior preclinical and toxicology database, and results from the phase I/II clinical study, Cardium anticipates that Excellarate may be advanced into a phase IIb clinical study commencing in the latter half of next year.
In connection with the transaction, TRC and Cardium will also seek to transfer to Cardium TRC’s $1.3 million small business innovation research (SBIR) grant from the US National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute to study cardiovascular angiogenesis.
Cardium will also seek to expand the scope of this research to include the study of new ways to promote the growth of microvascular circulation and to repair injured cardiac tissue following a heart attack. This approach complements Cardium’s lead preclinical product candidate, Corgentin.
Under the terms of the transaction, Cardium paid $1 million and assumed approximately $120,000 in liabilities. If Cardium advances Excellarate to a phase II clinical study, Cardium would be obligated to pay a product advancement milestone of $1 million. If Cardium successfully commercializes Excellarate, Cardium would pay royalties based on worldwide net sales of the product.