Kerecis Receives U.S. Patent For Fish-Skin-Based Tissue Regeneration Technology

REYKJAVIK, ICELAND and ISAFJORDUR, ICELAND--(Marketwired - February 13, 2014) -

The Kerecis material consists of sheets of intact, decellularized fish skin that have had all cells and antigenic materials removed. Fish skin is largely made from the same material as human skin, with the addition of Omega3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. The material is applied to areas of tissue damage where it recruits the body's own cells and ultimately is converted into functional, living tissue.

The first Kerecis product, MariGen Omega3 Wound, is indicated for the management of chronic wounds including diabetic, vascular and other hard-to-heal wounds. The product is produced in Iceland from fish locally harvested in the North Atlantic waters. MariGen Omega3 Wound is available for sale in Iceland, the UK and several Middle Eastern markets. The company will soon be expanding distribution to other markets.

Statement:

G. Fertram Sigurjonsson, CEO, President and Chairman: "Coming on the heels of our FDA approval last November, this patent gives us a strong position in the world's largest market for wound-care and tissue-healing products."

About Kerecis

Kerecis develops and produces tissue-regeneration biologic matrixes consisting of Omega3-containing fish skin. Biologic matrixes are materials made from human or animal tissue where the original material is still intact, but all cells and antigenic materials have been removed. The patented Kerecis fish-skin material accelerates wound healing and enables tissue reconstruction. The material addresses the large, so-far-unmet need of the double-digit-growth biologics segment of the chronic-wounds, hernia-repair, breast-reconstruction, dura-repair and dermatology markets.

Development programs involve the creation of regenerative technologies for repairing damaged tissue in vivo, as well as growing the tissues and organs in vitro and implanting them into the patient at a later stage. The Kerecis material offers advantages over existing human- and porcine-derived products, including improved manufacturing economics and a lower risk of disease transfer. Since it is derived from fish, the material is both kosher and halal compatible, eliminating cultural and religious constraints to usage, with equivalent or better clinical performance than alternative approaches.

For more information on Kerecis, go to www.kerecis.com, e-mail: info@kerecis.com or call 703-879-6535 (U.S.) or +354-8494960 (Iceland).

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Technorati: tissue regeneration tissue-regeneration wound patent medical device