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Advanced BioHealing to Highlight Standard of Care for Treating Diabetic Foot Ulcers
at New Cardiovascular Horizons


Westport, Conn. – June 2, 2010 – Advanced BioHealing, Inc. (ABH), a leader in commercializing the promise of regenerative medicine, announced that it will host four events focusing on the standard of care for treating diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) at this year’s New Cardiovascular Horizons (NCVH) conference in New Orleans, La.

ABH will support and/or participate in the following events at NCVH:

  • Neuropathy and Its Complications: Evaluation and Management. Sessions I and II will be held on Wednesday, June 2 from 1:30 to 6:00 p.m. and Thursday, June 3 from 1:30 to 6:30 p.m. Chaired by Allen Jacobs, DPM, Session I will feature presentations by Bradley Bakotic, DO, DPM; and Guy Pupp, DPM on the various types of neuropathy and how to effectively diagnose and manage them. Session II will also be chaired by Dr. Jacobs, and will feature discussions by Raymond Adbo, DPM; Dr. Bakotic; and Vincent Sollecito, DPM, CWS, FACFAS about clinical considerations and management of neuropathic ulceration and utilization of advanced wound healing products.

  • “Hands-On Dermagraft®” Workshop. Pieces of Dermagraft, ABH’s bio-engineered skin substitute, will be available for attendees to practice preparing and applying the product. To date, more than 200,000 pieces of Dermagraft have been supplied to over 1,000 wound care centers and outpatient clinics nationwide. The workshop will be held on Thursday, June 3 from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m.

  • Lunch Symposium: The NEW 2010 Consensus Recommendations on Advancing the Standard of Care for the Diabetic Foot Ulcer. Dr. Sollecito will address the evolution of DFU treatment, the subsequent formation of a new standard of care, why Dermagraft is central, and how doctors can implement this standard in their practice. The event will be held on Friday, June 4 from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m.

  • Presentations:
    • Treating CLI is more than Revascularization—The Role of the Podiatrist and Wound Healing Personnel. Desmond P. Bell, Jr., DPM of Wound Care on Wheels, LLC in Jacksonville, Fla. will present during the Critical Limb Ischemia Summit on Thursday, June 3 from 8:30 to 8:38 a.m.
    • Amputation Statistics and How They Impact Your Community. Dr. Bell will also present during the Hospital Administrator Forum on Thursday, June 3 from 2:40 to 2:55 p.m.
    • Surgical Strategies for Managing the Ulcerated Foot. Howard Kimmel, DPM of Louis Stokes Department of Veterans Affairs in Cleveland, Ohio will present during the VA Diabetic Foot Symposium on Friday, June 4 from 3:00 to 3:30 p.m.  Dr. Kimmel will also present a poster titled, “An Evidence Based Approach to Treating DFUs in a VA Population.” The poster will be available for viewing throughout the duration of NCVH. To view the complete abstract, visit: http://www.newcvhorizons.com/site36.php. 

“Although we’ve made great strides in the treatment of DFUs, there is still work to be done,” said Dean Tozer, Senior Vice President of ABH. “By highlighting the standard of care for treating DFUs at events such as NCVH, we hope to continue to educate health care providers on ways to effectively manage DFUs and improve patient outcomes. The primary goal, after all, is to help patients rapidly heal their ulcer, which should in turn provide them with a much improved quality of life. When this happens, the patient, the provider and the health care system all benefit.”

NCVH will be held June 2-5, 2010 at the Roosevelt Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New Orleans. Now in its 11th year, the fourth largest cardiovascular conference in the nation brings together the whole multidisciplinary team to concentrate on limb salvage and amputation prevention. ABH will exhibit at Booth #211 in the Exhibit Hall. For more information or to register, please visit: http://www.ncvhonline.com.

About Advanced BioHealing, Inc.
Advanced BioHealing develops and commercializes living cell therapies that repair damaged human tissue and enable the body to heal itself. A privately held company with more than 250 employees, Advanced BioHealing maintains its corporate office in Westport, Conn. and has two other sites in La Jolla, Calif. and Nashville, Tenn. To meet Advanced BioHealing’s executives and learn more about the Company, please visit the Company’s web site at www.ABH.com.

About Dermagraft®
Dermagraft is a bio-engineered skin substitute that assists in restoring damaged tissue and supports the body’s natural healing process. It is FDA approved to treat diabetic foot ulcers and is the focus of an ongoing pivotal trial in subjects with venous leg ulcers (VLUs) to assess the product’s safety and efficacy in the promotion of healing VLUs. To date, more than 200,000 applications of Dermagraft have been administered in over 1,000 wound care centers and outpatient clinics nationwide. For videos of Dermagraft in action, case studies, research and more, visit www.Dermagraft.com.

About Diabetic Foot Ulcers
In 2007, 23.6 million people, or 7.8% of the American population, had diabetes. Referred to as the “epidemic of our time” by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, incidence of diabetes is expected to increase 165% by 2050. The World Health Organization estimates 171 million people have diabetes globally and that number is expected to double by 2030. As a chronic medical condition among many diabetes patients, it is estimated that 15-25% will develop a foot ulcer in their lifetime, putting them at a 14-24% risk for lower limb amputation, and a 45% chance of death within five years if not managed properly. Also generating a significant financial impact, each new incidence of diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) in the U.S. costs nearly $40,000 to treat in the first two years. In the U.S. and Europe combined, DFU incidence is estimated to be between 1.7 to 2.5 million annually. Risk of death from unhealed neuropathic ulcers like DFUs is greater than both breast cancer and prostate cancer combined.

Media Contacts:

  • Lindsey Hart
    • Advanced BioHealing
    • lhart@abh.com
    • Direct: (773) 697-3838
    • Cell: (206) 335-0114
  • Mike Lizun