The Cryoport Biotech Activity Index Decreases 7.1% In Third Quarter of 2017; While the Total Number of Clinical Trials Increases to 934 Worldwide

IRVINE, Calif., Dec. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Cryoport Biotech Activity Index (the "CoBRA Index_SM"), which quantifies the activity in the development and clinical trials of regenerative therapies in the United States, decreased 7.1% to 222 in the third quarter of 2017. However, the regenerative market space continues to show robustness with the number of clinical trials increasing from 899 to 934, as reported by the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine. The CoBRA Index _SM acts as a means by which investors, the media and industry participants can evaluate investment in the space by viewing activity in clinical trials. The decrease in the CoBRA Index_SM was primarily due to the termination of a Phase III trial and pauses in dosing for several early stage trials. The Q3 decrease was partially offset by the addition of new clinical trials and commercial validation activities for now approved therapies.

During the third quarter of 2017, approximately $1.85 billion was invested in the development of regenerative therapies, representing a 102% increase over the same quarter of 2016. For the first nine months of 2017, approximately $6.12 billion was invested in the regenerative medicine space.

Mark Sawicki, PhD, Chief Commercial Officer of Cryoport, commented, "The CoBRA Index_SM tracks relative activity in the clinical trial space for regenerative medicine; therefore, we can expect its growth to be volatile as the industry grows to maturity. We expect the regenerative therapy space to remain very active. As the total number of trials in regenerative medicine grows, the impact of each new individual therapy is not expected to have as significant of an impact on the CoBRA Index_SM as they do in this early stage of the industry's development."

Dr. Sawicki continued, "We view the pullback of the CoBRA Index_SM as temporary and expect it to rebound as new trials ramp up their respective patient populations and as current trials progress. The biopharma industry, as a whole, will benefit greatly now that commercial products are entering the marketplace after navigating the rapids of clinical trials and being approved by the FDA. In our opinion, Novartis' lead CAR T-cell therapy, Kymriah, and Gilead/Kite Pharma's lead CAR T-cell therapy, Yescarta, signify a revolution in the treatment of cancers. We expect the progress of existing trials and the additions of new trials to offset the removal of these lead therapies from the CoBRA Index_SM as they move to the frontier of the commercialization of regenerative medicine."

Regenerative medicine encompasses an array of technologies and therapeutic approaches, the vast majority being cell and gene therapies, which are showing signs of revolutionizing treatment for a wide variety of diseases, ranging from hemophilia to cancer. Each of these clinical programs follow complex procedures which are initiated with patient recruitment for clinical trials, followed by pre-treatment medical procedures, manufacturing and product release upon passing complex analytical testing and concluding with patient dosing.

The CoBRA Index_SM measures and distills data from the flow of the processes supporting clinical trials and provides a unique view of the course of the total of regenerative therapies progression in its development phases.

The CoBRA Index_SM was launched in February 2017 by Cryoport (NASDAQ: CYRX, CYRXW), the world's leading cold temperature controlled logistics solutions provider dedicated to the life sciences industry. Visit CoBRA-Index.com for more information.

About Cryoport, Inc.
Cryoport is the life sciences industry's most trusted global provider of temperature controlled logistics solutions for temperature-sensitive life sciences commodities, serving the biopharmaceutical market with leading-edge logistics solutions for biologic materials, such as regenerative medicine, including immunotherapies, stem cells and CAR-T cells. Cryoport's solutions are used by points-of-care, CROs, central laboratories, pharmaceutical companies, manufacturers, university researchers et al; as well as the reproductive medicine market, primarily in IVF and surrogacy; and the animal health market, primarily in the areas of vaccines and reproduction. Cryoport's proprietary Cryoport Express® Shippers, Cryoportal™ Logistics Management Platform, leading-edge SmartPak II™ Condition Monitoring System and geo-sensing technology, paired with unparalleled cold chain logistics expertise and 24/7 client support, make Cryoport the end-to-end cold chain logistics partner that the industry trusts.

Cryoport is dedicated to

• simplifying global cold chain logistics through innovative technology, unmatched monitoring and data capture and support, including consulting;
• delivering the most advanced temperature controlled logistics solutions for the life sciences industry; and
• providing vital information that provides peace of mind throughout the life of each logistics process.

For more information, visit www.cryoport.com. Sign up to follow @cryoport on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cryoport.

Forward Looking Statements

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SOURCE Cryoport, Inc.

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