Dr. Phillip Chan Named Finalist for Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year® 2012 Award in New Jersey

MONMOUTH JUNCTION, N.J., May 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- CytoSorbents Corporation (OTCBB: CTSO.OB), a critical care-focused company using blood purification to modulate the immune system and fight multi-organ failure in life-threatening illnesses, today announced that Dr. Phillip Chan, CEO, was named a finalist in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2012 program in the New Jersey region. The award recognizes outstanding entrepreneurs who have demonstrated excellence and extraordinary success in areas such as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.  Dr. Chan was selected by an independent judging panel made up of previous winners, leading CEOs, private capital investors and other regional business leaders. 

Dr. Chan has been CEO and President of CytoSorbents since 2009, and has been working to help build the Company into an emerging pioneer of advanced blood purification technologies.  Under his leadership, publicly-traded CytoSorbents is now in the process of transitioning from a development stage company into an early commercialization stage company with the approval and early sales of its flagship product, CytoSorb®, in the European Union.  By reducing "cytokine storm", CytoSorb® aims to revolutionize the treatment of life-threatening illnesses such as sepsis and infection, burn injury, trauma, severe lung injury, and pancreatitis by preventing or treating multi-organ failure, the leading cause of death in the intensive care unit. 

Dr. Chan is a Board-certified internal medicine physician.  Prior to CytoSorbents, Dr. Chan led healthcare and life science investments as Partner for the $80M NJTC Venture Fund and co-founded Andrew Technologies, a venture-backed medical device company that is now commercializing its FDA-approved HydraSolve™ advanced lipoplasty device.  Dr. Chan completed his residency at Harvard Medical School at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and received his MD/PhD from Yale University School of Medicine.   He also received his BS in cell and molecular biology with honors and distinction from Cornell University.

Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year® is the world's most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs of high growth and market leading companies and recognizes business leaders in more than 140 cities and in 50 countries throughout the world. Entrepreneur of the Year® celebrates its 26th anniversary this year and honors entrepreneurs who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses. The award encourages entrepreneurial activity and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement.  

Awards will be presented at a special gala on June 27, 2012 at the Hyatt New Brunswick. Regional award winners are eligible for consideration for the Ernst & Young National Entrepreneur Of The Year Program.  Award winners in several national categories, as well as the Ernst & Young National Entrepreneur Of The Year Overall Award winner, will be announced at the annual awards gala in Palm Springs, California, on November 17, 2012.  The awards are the culminating event of the Ernst & Young Strategic Growth Forum, the nation's most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies.

About Ernst & Young and Sponsors

Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards are nationally sponsored in the United States by SAP America and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

In New Jersey, sponsors include PNC, Merrill Corporation, Morgan Lewis & Bockius, DLA Piper, Scherzer International, Empire Valuation Consultants, WithumSmith +Brown, Murray Devine, Gibbons, P.C., New Jersey Technology Council, SolomonEdwards Group, and the New Jersey Business Journal

About CytoSorbents, CytoSorb® and HemoDefend

CytoSorbents Corporation is a critical care focused therapeutic device company using blood purification to treat life-threatening illnesses. Its purification technology is based on biocompatible, highly porous polymer beads that can actively remove toxic substances from blood and other bodily fluids by pore capture and adsorption. In March 2011, CytoSorb®  achieved European regulatory approval as an extracorporeal cytokine filter, and can now be sold throughout the European Union under the CE Mark to be used in clinical situations where cytokines are elevated. The goal of CytoSorb® is to modulate the immune system by removing excessive cytokines, often called "cytokine storm", in critically-ill patients that can lead to deadly inflammation, multi-organ failure, immune dysfunction, and often death.  CytoSorb® has demonstrated statistically significant reductions in mortality in septic patients at high risk of death and is now available for sale in limited parts of Germany under a controlled market release, with a planned broad product launch in Germany anticipated for the first half of 2012 and later in other European countries assuming adequate and timely funding, and continued positive results from clinical studies.  HemoDefend is a development-stage blood purification technology platform for the blood transfusion industry intended to reduce transfusion reactions and safeguard the quality and safety of blood products. The HemoDefend technology utilizes the Company's polymer bead technology to remove many substances, such as antibodies, free hemoglobin and inflammatory mediators that can cause potentially serious and sometimes fatal transfusion reactions. CytoSorb® and HemoDefend are just two of a number of different polymers the Company has designed for various medical applications, including improved dialysis, the potential treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune disorders, rhabdomyolysis in trauma, cardiopulmonary bypass surgery, drug detoxification, and others. Additional information is available for download on the Company's website: www.cytosorbents.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements in this press release are not promises or guarantees and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These statements are based on management's current expectations and assumptions and are naturally subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. We caution you not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by the statements herein. CytoSorbents Corporation and CytoSorbents, Inc believe that its primary risk factors include, but are not limited to: obtaining government approvals including required FDA and additional CE Mark approvals; ability to successfully develop commercial operations; dependence on key personnel; acceptance of the Company's medical devices in the marketplace; the outcome of pending and potential litigation; compliance with governmental regulations; reliance on research and testing facilities of various universities and institutions; the ability to obtain adequate and timely financing in the future when needed; product liability risks; limited manufacturing experience; limited marketing, sales and distribution experience; market acceptance of the Company's products; competition; unexpected changes in technologies and technological advances; and other factors detailed in the Company's Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 30, 2012, which is available at http://www.sec.gov.

Contact:
CytoSorbents Corporation
David Lamadrid
Chief Financial Officer
(732) 329-8885 ext. *816
[email protected]

SOURCE CytoSorbents Corporation