Cardium Therapeutics reported on advancements of the company's two key biologics products, its Generx(R) candidate for the potential treatment of coronary artery disease, and its Excellagen(R) advanced wound care product. With regard to the Generx(R) product candidate for coronary artery disease, the company has received encouraging initial findings from its clinical Phase 3 registration study that is evaluating Generx in patients with myocardial ischemia due to arteriosclerosis, the most common form of coronary artery disease and a major contributor to cardiovascular deaths and morbidity throughout the developing world. Preliminary clinical data from the initial phase of the current study suggests that a one-time non-surgical administration of Generx can induce substantial improvements in cardiac blood flow or 'myocardial perfusion' as measured quantitatively using SPECT imaging (Single-photon emission computed tomography).

They are used to quantitatively measure the sufficiency of blood flow within the heart muscle under stress, and are considered to be a key prognostic indicator for the progression and risks associated with coronary artery disease. With regard to its Excellagen(R) advanced wound care product, the company has received positive findings from a European study that evaluated the role of Excellagen in a diabetic wound model, with and without stem cells. The results demonstrated that Excellagen had significant independent potential for wound healing, and also showed that Excellagen is capable of potentiating the effects of stem cells.

The study showed that Excellagen alone (in a control arm) had significant wound healing capability confirming and extending results observed regarding the use of Excellagen for the treatment of diabetic wounds. In addition, microscopic and biological analyses demonstrated that human MSCs integrated well into Excellagen's three-dimensioned fibrillar scaffold, with the stem cells retaining positive biological activities and exhibiting increased wound healing potential in the presence of Excellagen. Cardium expects that a manuscript providing the details of these important new research findings will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal in 2014.

The findings with human MSCs also open possibilities for the use of Excellagen in combination with stem cells for advanced wound healing applications, and potentially other applications in the emerging stem cell field.