REDWOOD CITY, Calif., April 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Cardica, Inc. (Nasdaq: CRDC) today announced that Radu Pescarus, M.D., Foregut Fellow in the Gastrointestinal and Minimally Invasive Surgery Division of Providence Portland Medical Center, presented a poster detailing the pre-clinical use of the MicroCutter^® XCHANGE 30 surgical stapling device in cutting-edge gastrointestinal surgical procedures including endoscopic assisted trans-gastric and trans-anal full thickness resections.

"With its slim profile, secure closure and large range of articulation, the MicroCutter XCHANGE 30 stapling device has the potential to alleviate some of the ongoing challenges in performing less invasive endoscopic procedures," commented Dr. Pescarus. "This device can be easily incorporated into laparoscopic or endoscopic procedures, where currently available commercial laparoscopic staplers have not been suitable for these procedures due to their bulk, making them impractical to manipulate in the gastric or colonic lumen. Importantly, the precise and secure closure obtained with the MicroCutter may avoid peritoneal seeding and contamination, both large concerns when a malignant tumor is present at the surgical site, providing better patient outcomes."

Dr. Pescarus' poster, entitled 'Endoscopic assisted trans-gastric and colorectal full thickness resections are enabled by a novel 5 mm surgical stapler,' were presented on earlier this month during the Emerging Technology Session at the SAGES Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah.

"We continue to receive feedback that the recent availability of the MicroCutter XCHANGE 30 in the United States is enabling less invasive gastrointestinal procedures with its small size and its ability to move 80 degrees in each direction," said Bernard A. Hausen, M.D., Ph.D., president and CEO of Cardica. "Surgeons have been waiting for this functionality to advance their less invasive surgical practice, and we are excited that this SAGES presentation by Dr. Pescarus and colleagues demonstrates the potential shift in patient care enabled by the MicroCutter."

About Cardica 
Cardica designs and manufactures proprietary stapling and anastomotic devices for cardiac and laparoscopic surgical procedures. Cardica's technology portfolio is intended to reduce operating time and facilitate minimally-invasive and robot-assisted surgeries. Cardica's MicroCutter XCHANGE^® 30, a cartridge-based articulating surgical stapling device with a five-millimeter shaft diameter, is manufactured and cleared for use in a variety of gastrointestinal procedures and appendectomies in the United States, and is marketed for a wide range of surgical procedures in Europe. Cardica is developing the Cardica^® MicroCutter XCHANGE^® 45, a cartridge-based microcutter device with an eight-millimeter shaft to be used in a variety of procedures, including bariatric, colorectal, thoracic and general surgery. The Cardica MicroCutter XCHANGE 45 product requires 510(k) review and CE Mark and is not yet commercially available in the U.S. or internationally. In addition, Cardica manufactures and markets its automated anastomosis systems, the C-Port^® Distal Anastomosis Systems and PAS-Port^® Proximal Anastomosis System for coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, and has shipped over 49,000 units throughout the world.

Forward-Looking Statements
The statements in this press release regarding the benefits expected for patients from Cardica's MicroCutter XCHANGE 30 and cartridges are "forward-looking statements." There are a number of important factors that could cause Cardica's results to differ materially from those indicated by this forward-looking statement, including: that Cardica may not be successful in its efforts to commercialize the XCHANGE 30 due to unanticipated technical or other difficulties; that prospective customers in the United States may not perceive the benefits of the XCHANGE 30 to be sufficient to warrant its purchase; that prospective customers in the United States may be constrained by pricing pressures or purchasing requirements in the hospitals and facilities in which they work, which could prevent them from purchasing the XCHANGE 30; as well as other risks detailed from time to time in Cardica's reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended December 31, 2013, under the caption "Risk Factors," filed on February 5, 2014. Cardica expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein. You are encouraged to read Cardica's reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, available at www.sec.gov.

SOURCE Cardica, Inc.