Aastrom Biosciences Fills Top Executive Position

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ANN ARBOR — Aastrom Biosciences Inc., a developer of patient-specific, expanded multicellular therapies for the treatment of severe, chronic cardiovascular diseases, today announced that the company’s board of directors has named Dominick C. Colangelo as president and CEO of Aastrom. Colangelo will also serve as a member of the Aastrom board of directors.

Colangelo joins Aastrom with more than twenty years of executive management and corporate development experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, including almost a decade with Eli Lilly and Co. Most recently, he was president and CEO of Promedior Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing protein therapeutics for the treatment of fibrovascular diseases.

During his career, Colangelo has held executive positions of increasing responsibility in product development, pharmaceutical operations, sales and marketing, and corporate development. He has extensive experience in the acquisition, development, and commercialization of therapies to treat fibrovascular, metabolic, and cardiovascular diseases.

“I am very pleased to have the opportunity to join Aastrom Biosciences, a leader in the cell therapy field, as the company continues to advance ixmyelocel-T through late-stage clinical development for the treatment of severe cardiovascular diseases,” Colangelo said. “Ixmyelocel-T, which is comprised principally of macrophage and mesenchymal stromal cells expanded from a patient’s own bone marrow, utilizes cell populations that have been shown to play a key role in reducing inflammation and promoting angiogenesis and tissue repair. This multicellular approach has tremendous therapeutic potential to treat these debilitating diseases and significantly improve the lives of patients.”

Aastrom is currently conducting pivotal studies of ixmyelocel-T in the treatment of severe cardiovascular conditions, including the REVIVE Phase 3 clinical trial in critical limb ischemia and the ixCELL-DCM Phase 2 trial in patients with ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy. Dan Orlando, who has served as interim CEO of Aastrom since November, will continue to support these programs and the company’s commercialization of ixmyelocel-T in his position as chief commercial officer.

“Nick Colangelo brings an outstanding range of expertise in business strategy and operational experience to Aastrom at a time when this experience will be a significant advantage for our company,” Robert L. Zerbe, MD, chairman of Aastrom’s board of directors, said. “He has demonstrated success in building high-value pipelines and executing transactions that support corporate development initiatives. He is highly qualified to lead Aastrom during this historic period in our growth as we work to complete clinical development and plan for regulatory review and commercialization of ixmyelocel-T. I would also like to thank Dan Orlando for his outstanding contributions in continuing Aastrom’s progress during his tenure as interim CEO.”