MONMOUTH JUNCTION, N.J., April 8, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CytoSorbents Corporation (OTCBB:CTSO), a critical care focused company using blood purification to treat life-threatening illnesses, today announced the establishment of its Trauma Advisory Board consisting of international leaders in the fields of trauma, trauma research, and critical care. Most are investigators on the Inflammation and the Host Response Glue Grant, a large-scale multi-disciplinary research program funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), a division of the National Institutes of Health. A wealth of information on this program, and the role that uncontrolled inflammation plays on poor outcome in trauma and burn injury can be found at: http://www.gluegrant.org/index.htm
Dr. Phillip Chan, Chief Executive Officer of CytoSorbents, stated, "As we continue to expand the potential critical care applications of our CytoSorb® blood purification technology into burn injury and trauma, we are honored to have the support of an outstanding group of world-renowned clinicians and researchers in these fields to help guide us. Their international leadership, extensive clinical expertise, and understanding of the inflammatory response in trauma and burn injury will be invaluable as we expand into these fields through our collaboration with the US Army via $1.1M in SBIR funding awards, work with trauma surgeons and physicians around the world, and new research opportunities."
The esteemed members of the CytoSorbents Trauma Advisory Board are:
Dr. Ronald V. Maier, MD – Chairman of the Trauma Advisory Board - is the Jane and Donald D. Trunkey Endowed Chair in Trauma Surgery and Director of the Trauma, Burn and Critical Care Division at the Harborview Medical Center at the University of Washington School of Medicine. Also known as the Northwest Regional Trauma Center, it is the only Level 1 trauma center in the region serving Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho. Dr. Maier is a trauma surgeon and researcher, specializing in trauma and critical care surgery, with more than 250 publications and manuscripts. Dr. Maier's long-standing interest in trauma has involved extensive clinical studies in the acute management of the severely injured and critically ill patient. He has also published extensively on the role of an aberrant host immuno-inflammatory response, including the role of inflammatory mediators such as cytokines, on the development of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome and organ failure in trauma. As a Glue Grant principal investigator, he has also led many clinical trials to establish treatment guidelines and best practices in trauma. Dr. Maier is Past-President of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, the International Association for the Surgery of Trauma and Surgical Intensive Care (which publishes the World Journal of Surgery), the Surgical Infection Society, the Society of University Surgeons, and the Shock Society. Dr. Maier has been a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science since 1994. Dr. Maier has also served as chair and a member of the NIH Surgery, Anesthesiology and Trauma Study Section, and is past Director and Chair of the American Board of Surgery. Dr. Maier graduated from the Duke University School of Medicine in 1973, completed his surgical residency from the Department of General Surgery at University of Washington, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in immunopathology at the Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation.
Dr. Mitchell Cohen, MD is Associate Professor of Surgery in the Division of General Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine, specializing in critical care medicine. Dr. Cohen is also Director of Acute Care Research at the San Francisco Injury Center. Dr. Cohen received his MD from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in 1997 and completed his surgical residency at Rush University/Cook County Medical Center. Dr. Cohen completed fellowships at Loyola University Medical Center Burn and Shock Trauma Institute, and a separate Trauma and Critical Care Fellowship from UCSF-San Francisco General Hospital. Dr. Cohen has an active basic science research lab where he studies coagulation and inflammation perturbations after trauma. In addition he is actively involved in the CDC San Francisco Injury Center as well as NIH and DoD funded projects related to inflammatory lung injury and monitoring of resuscitation and coagulation after injury.
Dr. Raul Coimbra, MD, PhD is the Monroe E. Trout Professor of Surgery and Executive Vice-Chairman of the Department of Surgery at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine. Dr. Coimbra is also Chief of the Division of Trauma, Surgical Critical Care and Burns at UCSD Medical Center. Among his many appointments, Dr. Coimbra currently serves as President of the World Coalition for Trauma Care, is Vice-Chair of the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma, and is the Recorder and Chair of the Scientific Program Committee of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma. Dr. Coimbra is an author on more than 350 publications, is on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Trauma, World Journal of Surgery, Pan-American Journal of Trauma, World Journal Emergency Surgery, European Journal of Trauma and Emergency Surgery (Associate Editor) and is an ad-hoc reviewer of scientific articles for the Annals of Surgery, Critical Care Medicine, International Pharmacology, Experimental Biology and Medicine, Archives of Surgery, and others. Dr. Coimbra has been involved in multiple clinical studies and conducted basic research in the area of trauma, traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic organ failure, resuscitation, and many others. He received his MD and PhD from Santa Casa School of Medicine in Sao Paulo, Brazil in 1985, where he also completed his residency training in General and Peripheral Vascular Surgery in the Department of Surgery.
Dr. Ernest E. Moore, MD is currently Editor of the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, and was the Chief of Trauma at the Denver General Hospital for the past 35 years, and Chief of Surgery for the past 26 years. He continues to serve as Vice Chairman for Research and Professor of Surgery at the University of Colorado Denver and was the Bruce M. Rockwell Distinguished Chair in Trauma Surgery. Under Dr. Moore's leadership, the Rocky Mountain Regional Trauma Center at Denver General became internationally recognized for innovative care of the injured patient, and its trauma research laboratory has been funded by the NIH for 25 consecutive years. Dr. Moore has served as president of nine academic societies, including the Society of University Surgeons, American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, International Association for the Surgery of Trauma, and the World Society of Emergency Surgery. Some of his awards include the Robert Danis Prize from the Society of International Surgeons, Orazio Campione Prize from the World Society of Emergency Surgery, and the Lifetime Achievement Award for Resuscitation Science from the American Heart Association. He has honorary fellowship in the Royal College of Surgeons – Edinburgh and the American College of Emergency Physicians and is an honorary member of the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma, Brazilian Trauma Society, Colombian Trauma Society, and Trauma Association of Canada. Dr. Moore is editor of the textbook Trauma, now in its 7th edition, has more than 1350 publications, and has lectured extensively throughout the world.
About CytoSorbents Corporation
CytoSorbents Corporation is a critical care focused therapeutic device company using blood purification to modulate the immune system and fight multi-organ failure in life-threatening illnesses. Its purification technology is based on biocompatible, highly porous polymer beads that can actively remove toxic substances from blood and other bodily fluids by pore capture and adsorption. CytoSorb®, the Company's flagship product, is approved in the European Union as a safe and effective extracorporeal cytokine filter, designed to reduce the "cytokine storm" that could otherwise cause massive inflammation, organ failure and death in common critical illnesses such as sepsis, burn injury, trauma, lung injury, and pancreatitis. These are conditions where the mortality is extremely high, yet no effective treatments exist. Additional information is available for download on the Company's website: http://www.cytosorbents.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements in this press release are not promises or guarantees and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These statements are based on management's current expectations and assumptions and are naturally subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. We caution you not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by the statements herein. Risk factors are detailed in the Company's Form 10-K filed with the SEC on April 3, 2013, which is available at http://www.sec.gov.