RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Humacyte, an innovator in biotechnology and regenerative medicine, announced today that the company has received a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) contract award of $3.4 million from the United States Department of Defense (DoD). The funding will help support the addition of clinical sites for Humacyte’s Phase II vascular trauma trial in the US. The trial is being conducted to study Humacyte’s investigational human acellular vessel (HAV), or HUMACYL®, to treat patients with traumatic vascular injuries from violent civilian or military events, such as automobile crashes, industrial accidents, or injuries of war.
“We are honored to be recognized and now supported by the Department of Defense for our research and development in patients with vascular trauma. Vascular trauma remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality among warfighters. While civilian trauma can be significant, the battlefield environment presents an even greater surgical challenge to manage trauma and prevent infection for vascular and non-vascular wounds,” said Jeffrey H. Lawson, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer of Humacyte. “This funding will help us continue to make important medical strides in the development of our bioengineered HAV, beyond our ongoing pivotal study for patients requiring hemodialysis.
Utilizing a soldier’s own vessel for vascular reconstruction is frequently difficult or not possible due to the nature and extent of common combat-related injuries. Furthermore, currently used synthetic materials may be poorly suited for vascular reconstruction in the setting of combat related injuries, due to the extreme risk infection with these injuries,” notes Lawson. “Our goal is to provide military -- and civilian -- surgeons with a safe and effective tool for long-term restoration of blood flow.
The DoD is America's oldest and largest government agency, with over 1.3 million men and women on active duty, and 742,000 civilian personnel. Advancing the agency’s mission to provide the military forces with the support needed to deter war and to protect the security of our country, the DoD US Army’s Medical Unit recently began working with Humacyte and other partners in the biomedical space to find solutions for injured warfighters.
In May 2016, Humacyte announced the commencement of the HUMANITY® study, a Phase III study of HUMACYL as a conduit for hemodialysis in patients with end-stage renal disease (kidney failure) who are not candidates for fistula placement. In September, Humacyte announced the completion of enrollment of 350 evaluable subjects this study. The company expects 12-month post-implantation patient data from the study to be available in late-2018. With this data, Humacyte plans to file a BLA to seek marketing authorization for HUMACYL.
In addition to its clinical studies for hemodialysis and vascular trauma, Humacyte is developing and plans to seek regulatory approval for additional clinical applications for its HAV, and the company recently announced the commencement of a U.S. Phase II clinical trial of the bioengineered vessel as a bypass graft in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD). The company is also continuing its efforts in advancing the development of future pipeline products that may improve treatment outcomes for patients suffering from both vascular and non-vascular diseases.
About Humacyte:
Humacyte, Inc., a privately held company founded by Dr. Laura E. Niklason, M.D., Ph.D., in 2004, is a medical research, discovery and development company with clinical and pre-clinical stage investigational products. Humacyte is primarily focused on developing and commercializing a proprietary novel technology based on human tissue-based products for key applications in regenerative medicine and vascular surgery. The company uses its innovative, proprietary platform technology to engineer human, extracellular matrix-based tissues that can be shaped into tubes, sheets, or particulate conformations, with properties similar to native tissues. These are being developed for potential use in many specific applications, with the goal to significantly improve treatment outcomes for many patients, including those with vascular disease and those requiring hemodialysis. The company’s proprietary technologies are designed to create off-the-shelf products that, once approved, can be utilized in any patient. The company web site is www.humacyte.com.
All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included in this announcement are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “will”, “anticipate”, “expect”, “believe”, “intend” and “should” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These statements relate to future events or Humacyte’s clinical development programs, reflect management’s current beliefs and expectations and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause Humacyte’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different. Except as required by law, Humacyte assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
