SUNRISE, Fla., July 27, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- www.bioheartinc.com/">Bioheart, Inc. (OTCBB:BHRT) announced today that their clinical paper has been accepted for publication in a prominent peer reviewed medical journal. The American Heart Journal has accepted for publication "A Double-blind, Randomized, Controlled, Multicenter Study to Assess the Safety and Cardiovascular Effects of Skeletal Myoblast Implantation by Catheter Delivery in Patients with Chronic Heart Failure Following Myocardial Infarction." Results of part one of the MARVEL phase II/III study were previously presented by Thomas Povsic, MD, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine at Duke University. In comparison with the placebo group, myoblast therapy was associated with sustained (6 months) improvements in exercise capacity distance of greater than 90 meters, an increase that would be of great importance to patients if replicated in larger studies.
The study's Principal Investigator Warren Sherman, MD, Director of Stem Cell Research and Regenerative Medicine at the Center for Interventional Vascular Therapy of Columbia University Medical Center stated, "We are gratified that the results of this component of the MARVEL Program will be published in the AHJ, a journal of such high caliber and rigorous peer review process. All involved in the design, conduct and analysis of MARVEL are to be commended, especially those involved at the clinical centers. And special praise is due to Tom Povsic, to his colleagues at Duke and, of course, to our colleagues at Bioheart."
Mike Tomas, President and CEO stated, "The publication of this significant clinical data supporting the use of MyoCell in chronic heart failure patients is an exciting milestone for the company. We remain committed to finalizing part two of the MARVEL trial and eventually commercializing the therapy."
About Bioheart, Inc.
Bioheart, Inc. founded in 1999 seeks to be the "go to technology partner for heart failure specialists and their patients." The company's flagship product MyoCell is an adult muscle stem cell composition, also known as immature myoblasts, derived and processed from patient's own thigh muscle. These cells are delivered to a patient's heart via the MyoCath needle tipped catheter or a similar device which is inserted through the patient's groin and is directed to the inside of the heart where the injections are made. MyoCell has been in clinical trials for treating advanced heart failure patients since early 2001. A 2nd generation composition MyoCell SDF-1 received FDA approval for clinical trials. This composition is made up of genetically modified cells that over express the stromal derived factor 1 protein that has been shown to improve blood vessel formation and muscle development. Bioheart, Inc. has also initiated clinical evaluation of methods of treating heart ischemia, acute myocardial infarctions and lower limb ischemia utilizing adipose (fat) derived cells. Bioheart is focused on heart failure and has a building pipeline of product developments to assist care providers in treating and caring for these patients.
For more information on Bioheart, visit www.bioheartinc.com/">http://www.bioheartinc.com.
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