Amorcyte Closes $4.2 Million Series a Financing; Financing to fund 40-patient cardiovascular cell therapy trial.HACKENSACK, N.J. -- Amorcyte Inc. (Amorcyte), a privately funded biotechnology company developing cell therapy products to treat cardiovascular disease Cardiovascular disease Disease that affects the heart and blood vessels. Mentioned in: Lipoproteins Test cardiovascular disease , announced today the conclusion of a $4.2 million first round of financing to fund its initial phase I clinical trial Noun 1. phase I clinical trial - a clinical trial on a few persons to determine the safety of a new drug or invasive medical device; for drugs, dosage or toxicity limits should be obtained phase I . Colt Ventures, LLC (Logical Link Control) See "LANs" under data link protocol. LLC - Logical Link Control , 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 FRCP Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. FRCP abbr. Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians , FACC FACC Fellow, American College of Cardiology . 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 acute myocardial infarction (  ·kyōōtˑ mī·ō·karˑ·dē· , 12 million cases of chronic ischemia, and 5 million occurrences of congestive heart failure congestive heart failure, inability of the heart to expel sufficient blood to keep pace with the metabolic demands of the body. In the healthy individual the heart can tolerate large increases of workload for a considerable length of time. 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. About Amorcyte Inc. Amorcyte Inc is a therapeutics company pursuing cell based therapies for cardiovascular diseases, reimbursable on a commercial scale for widespread clinical use. Amorcyte was incorporated in May 2005 and received FDA FDA abbr. Food and Drug Administration FDA, n.pr See Food and Drug Administration. FDA, n.pr the abbreviation for the Food and Drug Administration. approval for its Phase I trial IND in September 2005. Watch for the launch of www.amorcyte.com coming soon. |
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