Cesca Therapeutics Highlights Promising Data for t

RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif., March 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cesca Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: KOOL ), a market leader in automated cell processing and point-of-care autologous cell-based therapies, today announced encouraging data from a study evaluating the use of autologous platelet rich plasma (PRP) for the treatment of chronic non-healing ulcers.

Results from the 24 patient study entitled “Treatment of chronic non-healing ulcers using autologous platelet rich plasma: a case series” were published in the peer-reviewed, Journal of Biomedical Science . The study was led by researchers from TotipotentRX, a subsidiary of Cesca Therapeutics, and Fortis Memorial Research Institute.

In the study, 24 patients with one wound/ulcer of varying etiology were treated with a single dose of PRP injections around the wound alongside a topical administration of autologous platelet gel. The process was completed at the patient’s bedside in a single session within 30 minutes. Healing of the wound/ulcer was observed in patients as early as 4 weeks after the PRP treatment with a mean healing time of 8.2 weeks ±1.9. All patients demonstrated healing of the wound/ulcer, with 17 (70.8%) patients showing a 90% reduction in wound size and 3 (12.5%) patients showing an 80-90% reduction over the course of the 24 week follow-up. The study also reported that there were no adverse events on the day of treatment or during the patient’s 24 week follow-up, demonstrating a good safety profile for the treatment of chronic non-healing wounds/ulcers.

Dr. Venkatesh Ponemone, Study Director and Executive Director of TotipotentRX commented, “We are very pleased with the data from the study and believe that the use of PRP is a major breakthrough for the treatment of chronic non-healing wounds and ulcers. Using Cesca’s point-of-care platform, we are able to develop rapid cell based therapies at the patient’s bedside within 30 minutes significantly reducing the risk and costs associated with current standard of care treatments."

“This peer-reviewed publication further validates our novel point-of-care platform for rapid cellular based therapies,” commented Dr. Chris Xu, Cesca's Interim Chief Executive Officer. “As we continue to strengthen our team and evaluate Cesca’s clinical pipeline, these additional data points serve as useful litmus tests to determine the most valuable growth opportunities for the company.”

Chronic non-healing ulcers pose a significant health risk worldwide affecting an estimated 2-6 million people in the United States alone, and are a major cause of non-traumatic lower limb amputations. Despite a variety of standard of care treatments, many chronic ulcers fail to heal or persist for months/years and/or recur after healing, requiring additional advanced wound care therapies. Platelet Rich Plasma, however, has been a major breakthrough in the arena of vascular therapies allowing the use of a patient’s own body cells for wound/ulcer treatment, providing the necessary growth factors that enhance tissue healing.

About Cesca Therapeutics Inc. Cesca Therapeutics Inc. ( www.cescatherapeutics.com ) is engaged in the research, development, and commercialization of cellular therapies and delivery systems for use in regenerative medicine. The Company is a leader in the development and manufacture of automated blood and bone marrow processing systems that enable the separation, processing and preservation of cell and tissue therapeutics. These include:  

• The SurgWerks™ System (in development) -- a proprietary system comprised of the SurgWerks Processing Platform, including devices and analytics, and indication-specific SurgWerks Procedure Kits for use in regenerative stem cell therapy at the point-of-care for vascular and orthopedic diseases.
• The CellWerks™ System (in development) -- a proprietary cell processing system with associated analytics for intra-laboratory preparation of adult stem cells from bone marrow or blood.
• The AutoXpress® System  (AXP ^® ) -- a proprietary automated device and companion sterile disposable for concentrating hematopoietic stem cells from cord blood.
• The MarrowXpress™ System (MXP™) -- a derivative product of the AXP and its accompanying sterile disposable for the isolation and concentration of hematopoietic stem cells from bone marrow.
• The BioArchive® System  -- an automated cryogenic device used by cord blood banks for the cryopreservation and storage of cord blood stem cell concentrate for future use.
• Manual bag sets for use in the processing and cryogenic storage of cord blood.

Forward-Looking Statement The statements contained herein may include statements of future expectations and other forward-looking statements that are based on management’s current views and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. A more complete description of risks that could cause actual events to differ from the outcomes predicted by Cesca Therapeutics' forward-looking statements is set forth under the caption "Risk Factors" in Cesca Therapeutics annual report on Form 10-K and other reports it files with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time, and you should consider each of those factors when evaluating the forward-looking statements.

Company Contact: Cesca Therapeutics Inc. ir@cescatherapeutics.com Investor Contact: The Ruth Group Lee Roth / Tram Bui 646-536-7012 / 7035 lroth@theruthgroup.com / tbui@theruthgroup.com