Angiotech and CABG Medical, Inc. enter exclusive license agreement to extend paclitaxel technology into coronary bypass surgery
23 März 2005 - 2:30PM
PR Newswire (US)
Angiotech and CABG Medical, Inc. enter exclusive license agreement
to extend paclitaxel technology into coronary bypass surgery -
Angiotech to Invest Up to $10 million in CABG Medical - VANCOUVER,
BC and MINNEAPOLIS, MN, March 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANPINASDAQ:TSX:NASDAQ:ANP)
today announced the execution of an exclusive license agreement.
The exclusive license agreement provides CABG Medical (NASDAQ:CABG)
with access to Angiotech's pioneering technology to treat
restenosis and proliferative disease through the local delivery of
the drug paclitaxel, and to Angiotech's extensive intellectual
property portfolio related to this technology. CABG Medical will
employ Angiotech's technology in the field of coronary artery
bypass grafts. In connection with the license agreement, Angiotech
will receive a warrant to purchase 1,262,823 shares of CABG
Medical's common stock, exercisable at $0.01 per share. Angiotech
will also be entitled to milestone payments upon the achievement of
identified clinical development objectives and in addition will
receive royalties on sales of the Holly Graft(TM) System. In a
separate transaction, Angiotech has agreed to purchase up to $10
million of CABG Medical's common stock at a 15 percent premium to
the market value of such stock, with a current investment of $5
million and an additional $5 million investment upon CABG Medical's
achievement of certain revenue milestones. Despite the success of
coronary stenting, over 600,000 patients worldwide have coronary
artery bypass procedures requiring an average of three bypass
vessels per procedure. Approximately 20 percent of these patients
experience some type of complication as a result of a traditional
vessel harvesting for a typical bypass procedure. CABG Medical is
currently developing the Holly Graft(TM) System, which is designed
to eliminate the need during a bypass procedure to perform a second
surgery to harvest vessels from the chest, legs or arms for use in
the coronary artery bypass procedure. The Holly Graft(TM) System
may potentially reduce operating-room time as well as
post-operative care and readmissions. The Holly Graft(TM) System
may be utilized in procedures that incorporate either the
heart-lung bypass machine or in so-called "off pump" procedures
giving surgeons added flexibility. The Holy Graft(TM) System
consists of a thin-walled and flexible vascular graft made of
expanded polytetrafluoroethylene or ePTFE. The ePTFE graft is
attached to coronary arteries using one or more vessel connectors
and a titanium flow limiter to control flow and pressure. The
connector and the limiter are attached to the ePTFE graft and the
arteries using standard suture material. Working together, these
elements allow blood to flow into the Holly Graft(TM) System at the
aorta, where blood pressure is relatively high, and out of the
Holly Graft(TM) System at the superior vena cava or pulmonary
artery, where blood pressure is relatively low. In between, blood
will bypass diseased arteries and flow into one or more healthy
coronary arteries through vessel connections established by
surgeons. The vessel connector will employ a drug combination that
includes the drug paclitaxel, which has been specifically designed
to reduce the risk of blockage and tissue formation. "We are
excited to have the opportunity to extend our novel drug-eluting
technology into the coronary bypass field through our new
relationship with CABG Medical," said Dr. William Hunter, President
and CEO of Angiotech. "We feel confident our technology can
contribute to the clinical development and potential for success of
the Holly Graft(TM) System. We are also pleased to continue to
recognize value from our extensive intellectual property portfolio
and know-how in the area of local delivery of paclitaxel - we
expect that many more partners will seek access to our proprietary
position through licenses to our technology, which is covered by
many valid and issued patents throughout the world." "We continue
to invest not only in our technology, but with capital and
ownership in other promising medical technologies that we believe
will benefit from our extensive knowledge in the field of
drug-device combinations," said Jeanne Bertonis, Chief Business
Officer of Angiotech. "This collaboration will provide us the
opportunity to expand the application of our polymeric coatings
from our Biocoatings division, formerly STS Biopolymers, Inc., and
leverage our experience in drug-eluting technologies that we gained
through our Bioresearch division towards bettering the outcome of a
medical device, highlights the potential of the drug/device
convergence that we are focused on at Angiotech." "We are proud to
have taken our next big step forward in developing the Holly
Graft(TM) System by establishing a relationship with the technology
leader in drug-device combinations," said Manny Villafana, Chairman
and Chief Executive Officer of CABG Medical. "In addition to
securing access to the technology and know-how of Angiotech,
through our license agreement we have secured the intellectual
property foundation underlying the paclitaxel franchise, which we
feel significantly enhances our competitive and proprietary
position." Vancouver-based Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a
specialty pharmaceutical company focused on combining
pharmaceutical compounds with medical devices and biomaterials to
better address common complications associated with the
implantation of medical devices and the detrimental effects of
various diseases. To find out more about Angiotech Pharmaceuticals,
Inc. (NASDAQ:ANPINASDAQ:TSX:NASDAQ:ANP), please visit our website
at http://www.angiotech.com/. CABG Medical, Inc. is a medical
device company seeking to improve the treatment of coronary heart
disease by advancing conventional bypass surgery. CABG Medical has
designed its first product, the Holly Graft(TM) System, by
leveraging its understanding of flow dynamics, material sciences
and drug combinations to create a drug-eluting coronary graft
system. To find out more about CABG Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ:CABG),
please visit our website at http://www.cabgmedical.com/. Statements
contained herein that are not based on historical or current fact,
including without limitation statements containing the words
"anticipates," "believes," "may," "continue," "estimate,"
"expects," "may" and "will" and words of similar import, constitute
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking
statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
factors that may cause the actual results, events or developments
to be materially different from any future results, events or
developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements. Such factors include, among others, the following:
general economic and business conditions, both nationally and in
the regions in which the Company operates; technology changes;
competition; changes in business strategy or development plans; the
ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; existing
governmental regulations and changes in, or the failure to comply
with, governmental regulations; liability and other claims asserted
against the Company; and other factors referenced in the Company's
filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission
or the Canadian securities regulators. Given these uncertainties,
readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such
forward-looking statements. The Company does not assume the
obligation to update any forward-looking statements. (xxx)
CONTACTS: Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Todd Young (Analysts
& Investors) (604) 221-7676 ext 6933 Eric Starkman, Starkman
& Associates (Media) (212) 252-8545 ext 12 CABG Medical, Inc.
John Babbit, (763) 258-8005 DATASOURCE: Angiotech Pharmaceuticals,
Inc. CONTACT: Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Todd Young (Analysts
& Investors), (604) 221-7676 ext 6933; Eric Starkman, Starkman
& Associates (Media), (212) 252-8545 ext 12; CABG Medical,
Inc., John Babbit, (763) 258-8005
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