Biostage Appoints Stephen F. Badylak DVM, PhD, MD, as Co-Chairman of Scientific Advisory Board

HOLLISTON, Mass., April 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Biostage, Inc. (Nasdaq: BSTG), ("Biostage" or the "Company"), a biotechnology company developing bioengineered organ implants to treat life-threatening conditions of the esophagus, bronchus and trachea, today announced that it has appointed Stephen F. Badylak DVM, PhD, MD to its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). Dr. Badylak joins regenerative medicine and tissue engineering expert, Dr. Joseph Vacanti as Co-Chairman.

Dr. Badylak is a Professor in the Department of Surgery, a deputy director of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine (MIRM), and directs a laboratory focused upon the use of biologic scaffolds composed of extracellular matrix (ECM) to facilitate functional tissue and organ reconstruction.  

"Our goal is to build a preeminent SAB in order to leverage the vast knowledge and expertise of those that are at the forefront of leading a paradigm shift in treatments in the regenerative medicine space. We are thrilled to have Dr. Badylak join our Scientific Advisory Board as Co-Chairman," stated Saverio La Francesca, MD, President and Chief Medical Officer of Biostage. "The expertise he has amassed over the course of his career in the mechanisms by which extracellular matrix signals host tissues to promote and support functional tissue reconstruction will be invaluable as we continue to advance our Cellframe technology, beginning with our Cellspan Esophageal Implant."

Dr. Badylak received his DVM from Purdue University. He then obtained an MS in Clinical Pathology and a PhD in Anatomic Pathology from Purdue University and graduated with highest honors with a MD from Indiana University Medical School. He began his academic career at Purdue University as an Assistant Research Scholar at the Hillenbrand Biomedical Engineering Center in 1983, and eventually served as Director of the Center from 1993-1998. Dr. Badylak was also a Senior Research Scientist within the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Purdue University. He is a charter member and the past President of the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS) and has served as the Chair of the Study Section for the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and as chair of the Bioengineering, Technology, and Surgical Sciences (BTSS) Study Section at NIH. Dr. Badylak is currently a member of the College of Scientific Reviewers for the NIH.

Dr. Badylak holds over 60 U.S. patents, 300 patents worldwide, has authored more than 350 scientific publications and 40 book chapters. Dr. Badylak has served as Chairman or been a member of the Scientific Advisory Board to several major medical device companies. Dr. Badylak is a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, a charter member of the Tissue Engineering Society International. He is also a member of the Society for Biomaterials and editor in chief of the Journal of Immunology and Regenerative Medicine. He has received many awards, including the Sigma Xi Scientific Society 2002 Research Award, the Pittsburgh Business Times Hero in Health Care Innovation & Research for 2005, the 2005 and 2008 Carnegie Science Center Award for Excellence, the 2005 Clemson Award from the Society for Biomaterials, the Chancellor's Distinguished Research Award in 2008, and the TERMIS (America's Chapter) Senior Scientist Award in 2012.

Dr. Badylak commented, "I am excited to join the Biostage Scientific Advisory Board as the Company prepares for its first-in-human clinical trials. I believe that the Cellspan Implants utilizing Biostage's Cellframe technology represent a potential major advancement in the field of regenerative medicine and I look forward to working closely with the Biostage team to provide solutions and a higher quality of life for patients affected with life-threatening conditions of the esophagus, bronchus and trachea."

About Biostage

Biostage is a biotechnology company developing bioengineered organ implants based on the Company's new Cellframe^™ technology which combines a proprietary biocompatible scaffold with a patient's own stem cells to create Cellspan^™ organ implants. Cellspan implants are being developed to treat life-threatening conditions of the esophagus, bronchus or trachea with the hope of dramatically improving the treatment paradigm for patients. Based on its preclinical data, Biostage has selected life-threatening conditions of the esophagus as the initial clinical application of its technology.

Cellspan implants are currently being advanced and tested in collaborative preclinical studies. Preclinical, large-animal safety studies, conducted in compliance with the FDA Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) regulations, for the Company's Cellspan Esophageal Implant product candidate are ongoing, in support of Biostage's goal of filing an Investigational New Drug application (IND) with the U.S. FDA in the third quarter of 2017. The IND will seek approval to initiate clinical trials for its esophageal implant product candidate in humans.

For more information, please visit www.biostage.com and connect with the Company on Twitter and LinkedIn. 

Forward-Looking Statements:

Some of the statements in this press release are "forward-looking" and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These "forward-looking" statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the development expectations and regulatory approval of any of our products, including those utilizing our Cellframe technology, by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the European Medicines Agency or otherwise, which expectations or approvals may not be achieved or obtained on a timely basis or at all; or success with respect to any collaborations, clinical trials and other development and commercialization efforts of our products, including those utilizing our Cellframe technology, which such success may not be achieved or obtained on a timely basis or at all. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause results to differ materially from the statements set forth in this press release, including, among other things, our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval for our products; plus other factors described under the heading "Item 1A. Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016 or described in our other public filings. Our results may also be affected by factors of which we are not currently aware. The forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release. Biostage expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to such statements to reflect any change in its expectations with regard thereto or any changes in the events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

SOURCE Biostage, Inc.

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