DURHAM, N.C., Dec. 31, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Humacyte, Inc. (Nasdaq: HUMA), a clinical-stage biotechnology platform company developing universally implantable bioengineered human tissue at commercial scale, today announced the appointment of Surgical Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) Alan P. Kypson, M.D., FACS; Luigi Pascarella, M.D., FACS; and Todd E. Rasmussen, M.D., FACS, (Col, ret. USAF MC), to new advisory positions. In these roles, the KOLs will lend their expertise and support to guide the education and clinical advancement efforts of the Human Acellular VesselTM (HAV) and help identify opportunities to advance the Company’s early stage complex tissue constructs pipeline and platform.
Humacyte’s HAV are engineered off-the-shelf replacement vessels currently being evaluated in advanced-stage clinical trials in vascular trauma, arteriovenous access for hemodialysis and peripheral arterial disease (PAD). The HAV are also being used to treat severe PAD patients under an investigator-sponsored IND #27864, filed with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by Dr. Rasmussen, at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
“Drs. Kypson, Pascarella and Rasmussen are luminaries in the fields of cardiac, vascular and trauma surgery, and we’ve had the pleasure of working with them in various capacities as we’ve developed the HAV,” said Laura Niklason, M.D., Ph.D., Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Humacyte. “We’re thrilled to now formalize their roles as foundational advisors to our clinical and surgical teams, as we prepare for our next phase of growth, anticipated commercialization of the HAV in its initial vascular indications, and planned expansion of the applications for our off-the-shelf regenerative medicine technology.”
Dr. Kypson is a cardiothoracic surgeon at the University of North Carolina Rex Hospital, in Raleigh, N.C. Previously, he served as Professor of Surgery at the Brody School of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the East Carolina Heart Institute. Dr. Kypson has led the large animal preclinical development of Humacyte’s vessels in coronary artery bypass surgery for more than a decade, and has authored more than 100 publications, primarily in the field of cardiovascular surgery.
Dr. Pascarella is a vascular surgeon and an Associate Professor and Vice-Chair of Surgery at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill, N.C. Dr. Pascarella completed a Vascular Biology Research Fellowship in the Department of Bioengineering at University of California San Diego and his post-graduate surgical training at Duke University. He has performed preclinical studies on several animal models of vascular disease, including studies with the HAV. Dr. Pascarella has authored many publications in peer-reviewed medical journals, with a focus on vascular surgery, aortic disease and medical education.
Dr. Rasmussen is Professor and Vice-Chair for education in the department of surgery and a senior associate consultant in the division of vascular and endovascular surgery at Mayo Clinic. Prior to joining Mayo, Dr. Rasmussen served nearly three decades in the U.S. Air Force, retiring at the rank of Colonel in 2021. During his time in the Air Force, Dr. Rasmussen completed several tours of duty in the Middle East and initiated a vascular injury and hemorrhage control research and innovation program. Dr. Rasmussen’s research has resulted in more than 300 publications, primarily in the fields of vascular injury and shock, including two textbooks, the Handbook of Patient Care in Vascular Disease and Rich’s Vascular Trauma. He is also co-inventor of the lifesaving REBOA device, a minimally invasive technique to manage severe hemorrhage and shock.
About Humacyte
Humacyte, Inc. (Nasdaq: HUMA) is developing a disruptive biotechnology platform to deliver universally implantable bioengineered human tissues and organs designed to improve the lives of patients and transform the practice of medicine. The Company develops and manufactures acellular tissues to treat a wide range of diseases, injuries and chronic conditions. Humacyte’s initial opportunity, a portfolio of human acellular vessels (HAVs), is currently in late-stage clinical trials targeting multiple vascular applications, including vascular trauma repair, arteriovenous access for hemodialysis, and peripheral arterial disease. Pre-clinical development is also underway in coronary artery bypass grafts, pediatric heart surgery, treatment of type 1 diabetes, and multiple novel cell and tissue applications. Humacyte’s HAVs were the first product to receive the FDA’s Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) expedited review designation and received priority designation for the treatment of vascular trauma by the U.S. Secretary of Defense. For more information, visit www.Humacyte.com.
