LIFECELL ANNOUNCES CLINICAL DATA ON NEW APPLICATIONS FOR ALLODERM AT THE 29TH AMERICAN BURN ASSOCIATION MEETING.

THE WOODLANDS, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 21, 1997--

Benefits Demonstrated in Treatment of Wound Contracture 

Complications and for Elderly Population

LifeCell Corporation (Nasdaq:LIFC) today announced that the Company's patented AlloDerm(R) skin graft product has been demonstrated to be clinically beneficial in reducing wound contracture complications for reconstruction of burn wounds previously grafted with the patient's own skin. In addition, AlloDerm has been demonstrated to be advantageous when used as an initial permanent dermal graft in elderly persons. These updates were announced in two poster presentations at the 29th Annual Meeting of the American Burn Association held in New York City on March 19 through 21, 1997.

As presented by D. A. Reilly, M.D., Assistant Professor at the University of California, Davis, Medical Center, AlloDerm together with ultra-thin autografts were used to release contractures for 14 contracture bands on seven patients. Each patient had previously undergone full-thickness wound excision followed by a split-thickness skin graft for their initial burn care. All seven patients were treated with meshed AlloDerm placed directly on the wound, covered by an ultra-thin autograft. The successful engraftment rate for AlloDerm was 90%, and the area was fully engrafted and functional within 10 - 14 days post-graft, at which time a physical therapy program was initiated for each patient.

Wound contracture is a frequent long-term complication of third-degree burns. Contractures can be severe and, if located near a joint or on the hands, neck or underarms, can restrict mobility. Contractures are released by excising the scar tissue and re-grafting the area, usually with additional skin tissue from the patient. This can be difficult if the patient's available donor sites were previously cropped to graft the original burn wound.

"This study indicates that use of AlloDerm in conjunction with an ultra-thin autograft provides adequate and beneficial correction of wound contracture particularly in patients with limited donor sites," said Dr. Reilly. "Utilization of this technology allows donor sites to re-epithelialize quickly, thus easing the strain of repetitive surgeries in the burn survivor."

D. C. Gore, M.D., Director of The Burn Center of The Medical College of Virginia, reported that AlloDerm may provide clinical benefit when used as the initial graft for full-thickness burn wounds in elderly patients. Nine elderly patients (average age of 78) received AlloDerm grafts and ultra-thin autograft overlays. Engraftment rates ranged from 36% (+/- 9) on the buttocks to 87% (+/- 2) for the general body area. The ultra-thin donor sites were healed by 12 days.

"This initial experience demonstrates that using AlloDerm in the operative wound closure of elderly burn patients allows for acceptable skin graft take without jeopardizing donor site healing," said Dr. Gore. "Because skin thins with advancing age, we can only employ traditional skin graft techniques in elderly burn patients by creating a new full-thickness wound at the skin graft donor site. Use of AlloDerm may circumvent this problem and provide a viable alternative to the prolonged chronic wound care often required for these patients."

"We are delighted to see the expansion of clinical applications of AlloDerm in the burns market segment," said Paul M. Frison, LifeCell's president and chief executive officer. "These applications are in addition to AlloDerm's use in plastic and reconstructive surgery and periodontal surgery. We remain excited by the versatility of AlloDerm in addition to our products under development, including XenoDerm(TM) porcine dermal graft, the LifeCell(R) heart valve, universal vascular conduits and ThromboSol(TM), a formulation we are developing for extending the shelf-life of transfusable platelets."

AlloDerm processed dermal tissue products are derived from LifeCell's patented technology for preserving human dermal tissue for permanent transplantation. AlloDerm products address multiple clinical markets including plastic and reconstructive surgery, periodontal surgery, and the treatment of third-degree burns.

In the United States, LifeCell markets AlloDerm through a network of regional specialty distributors for plastic and reconstructive surgery and on a direct basis for burn treatment. AlloDerm products for periodontal (gum) surgery are marketed through an exclusive global distribution agreement with DENTSPLY International (Nasdaq:XRAY).

LifeCell Corporation develops and commercializes universal tissue grafts and blood cell preservation products. LifeCell's first commercial product, AlloDerm(R) preserved human dermis, is used in plastic and reconstructive surgery, in periodontal surgery, and in the treatment of third-degree burns. In addition to AlloDerm grafts, the Company's current universal tissue graft development programs include XenoDerm(TM) porcine dermal graft, the LifeCell(R) heart valve (under an exclusive license agreement with Medtronic, Inc. - NYSE:MDT), and universal vascular conduits. LifeCell's product development programs also include ThromboSol(TM), a formulation for extending the shelf-life of transfusable platelets.

Certain of the statements contained in this news release are forward-looking statements. While these statements reflect the Company's current beliefs, they are subject to uncertainties and risks that could cause actual results to differ materially. These factors include, but are not limited to, the demand for the Company's products and services, economic and competitive conditions, access to borrowed or equity capital on favorable terms, and other risks detailed in the Company~s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 1996, and Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1995.

For additional information about the Company, visit LifeCell's web site:

http://www.lifecell.com

CONTACT: LifeCell Corporation

Jane Lea Hicks, 713/367-5368

or

Burns McClellan, Inc.

Karen Bergman or Scott Lerman (media)

or Ruth Markowitz (investors) 212/505-1919