ACell Enters National Purchasing Agreement with Novation, Awarded Innovative Technology Designation for MatriStem® Devices

COLUMBIA, Md., March 31, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- ACell, Inc., a leading regenerative medicine company focused on the development, manufacturing and commercialization of tissue repair products, today announced that it has entered into a national purchasing agreement with Novation for the Company's MatriStem® devices. 

The MatriStem devices also were awarded the elite Innovative Technology designation from Novation, a leading health care supply chain expertise, analytics and contracting company. The designation underscores the clinical benefits of ACell's standalone MatriStem technology for surgical soft tissue repair and complex wound management. The new contract with Novation marks the second major group purchasing organization agreement for the Company, effectively broadening physician access of MatriStem to an additional 100,000 healthcare providers.

Novation awarded ACell's MatriStem devices with the Innovation Technology designation following application by ACell and a subsequent comprehensive review that included competitor wound and surgical products in the regenerative medicine space. During the review, Novation found MatriStem products demonstrate a benefit to patient care compared to other products that are already available in the market.

In 2013, health care organizations purchased about $49 billion through Novation contracts, covering nearly half of the nation's admissions and surgeries as well as over 90 percent of U.S. academic medical centers. Novation serves the more than 100,000 members and affiliates of VHA Inc., a national network of not-for-profit health care organizations; UHC, an alliance of academic medical centers and their affiliated hospitals; Children's Hospital Association, representing more than 220 children's hospitals; and Provista LLC, a leading supply chain improvement company, to help them manage and reduce supply costs.

MatriStem products are medical devices that maintain and support a healing environment through constructive remodeling. Comprised of naturally-occurring urinary bladder matrix (UBM), MatriStem devices maintain an intact epithelial basement membrane which is hypothesized to facilitate the body's natural healing potential.

Jim DeFrancesco, Chief Executive Officer and Director, remarked, "We look forward to a promising partnership with Novation. The new agreement provides us with a tremendous value add to the business by offering our MatriStem devices to a wider healthcare customer base at significant financial value. Designation of Innovative Technology is a true reflection of the superiority of our technology in the treatment of surgical soft tissue repair and complex wound management and further underscores the demonstrated clinical benefits MatriStem provides patients and their physicians each day."   

MatriStem devices have received multiple 510(k) clearances from the FDA and are indicated for complex wound management including for pressure ulcers, venous ulcers, diabetic ulcers, surgical wounds and trauma wounds, and the reinforcement of soft tissue where weakness exists in urological, gynecological and gastroenterological anatomy.

ACell, Inc. offers the next generation of regenerative medicine through the development and commercialization of unique extracellular matrix (ECM) products to repair and remodel damaged tissues in a broad range of applications. Its patented MatriStem ECM medical devices maintain and support a healing environment through constructive remodeling and are available in particle and sheet forms for the treatment of acute wounds and various surgical procedures. For more information, visit www.acell.com.

About ACell, Inc.
ACell, Inc. is a leading regenerative medicine company focused on the development, manufacturing and commercialization of tissue repair products. Its medical devices are cleared for a variety of indications and are marketed under the brand name "MatriStem." A privately held company, ACell produces MatriStem at its full scale manufacturing facilities in Columbia, MD and Lafayette, IN, and markets its products to physicians in the U.S. through a national direct sales force. For more information, call (800) 826-2926 or visit www.acell.com.

About MatriStem®
MatriStem products are porcine-derived extracellular matrix (ECM), essential structures that maintain and support a healing environment through constructive tissue remodeling. All MatriStem devices contain the basement membrane of porcine urinary bladder tissue, or urinary bladder matrix (UBM).  UBM is a layer of tissue that is a critical component of constructive tissue remodeling. It provides MatriStem products with several distinguishable characteristics, including the ability to facilitate the body's own regenerative capabilities and help restore normal site-appropriate tissue while avoiding scar tissue formation; the ability to be used "off-the-shelf" and stored at room temperature, with an approximate two year shelf life; and superior ease-of-use characteristics. MatriStem products are indicated for use in a wide range of regenerative and tissue repair applications and come in a range of sizes and thicknesses. It is the only ECM of its kind available in micronized particulate form. It has been cleared for use for the reinforcement of soft tissue where weakness exists in urological, gynecological and gastroenterological anatomy, which is referred to as surgical soft tissue repair, and for the management of wounds, such as pressure ulcers, venous ulcers, diabetic ulcers, second-degree burns, surgical wounds and trauma wounds, which is referred to as complex wound management. Refer to IFU supplied with each device for indications, contraindications, and precautions. All MatriStem devices are made in the USA. 

Contacts:

Jon Werner
Director of Marketing
(410) 715-1700

Kirsten Thomas (media)
The Ruth Group
(646) 536-7014
[email protected]

SOURCE ACell, Inc.