MariGen Omega3 Fish Skin in Plastic Surgery to Be Demonstrated at Breast Surgeons' Conference

REYKJAVIK, ICELAND and ISAFJORDUR, ICELAND--(Marketwired - May 5, 2014) - Kerecis Limited, the emerging leader in tissue-regeneration materials, will demonstrate its MariGen Omega3 fish-skin surgical material at the 3rd nORBS (Nordic oncoplastic and reconstructive breast surgeons) conference in Reykjavik, Iceland, May 8 and 9.

The demonstration will take place during the Live Surgery Link (Case 1) at 10:50 a.m. on May 8. The focus of the conference is on reducing the risk that women who carry the mutated BRCA2 gene will develop breast cancer.

Kerecis is actively developing its MariGen Omega3 fish-skin surgical material for multiple indications, including breast reconstruction. The first Kerecis product, MariGen Omega3 Wound, is already on the market and is indicated for the management of chronic wounds including diabetic, vascular and other hard-to-heal wounds. Materials indicated for hernia repair and dura repair are also under development.

The product is produced in Iceland from fish locally harvested in the North Atlantic. The MariGen Omega3 material is intact fish-skin sheets that have had all cells and antigenic materials removed. Fish skin is largely made from the same material as human skin, with the addition of Omega3 polyunsaturated fatty acids.

When inserted into or onto damaged human tissue, the MariGen Omega3 products recruit the body's own cells, are incorporated into the wound, and ultimately are converted into functional, living tissue.

Statements:

Dr. Kristjan Skuli Asgeirsson (MD), Chairman of the organizing committee:
"This is the first time that an nORBS conference has been held in Iceland. The focus of this meeting is on risk-reducing surgery for women at high risk of developing breast cancer, especially women carrying the BRCA mutation. The Kerecis product is a welcome addition to the portfolio of acellular dermal matrixes that will be covered at the conference."

Dr. Baldur Tumi Baldursson (PhD) (MD), Kerecis Medical Director:
"We are working to establish the MariGen Omega3 material platform as the biomaterial of choice across multiple medical operations where synthetic mesh has traditionally been used. We are developing an application for breast reconstruction, which we feel is a good fit for our technology."

Dr. Hilmar Kjartansson (MD), Kerecis Director for Clinical R&D:
"The conference will give us valuable input to our development strategy. Biological surgical materials are becoming the products of choice for reconstructive surgeons worldwide. This makes it all the more important to structure our development programs effectively, to assure our materials offer more benefits to surgeons and patients than established technologies. We fully expect this will be the case for our patented Omega3 fish-skin surgical material."

About Kerecis

Kerecis develops and produces tissue-regeneration biologic matrixes consisting of patented Omega3-containing fish skin. Biologic matrixes are materials made from human or animal tissue where the original material is intact, but all cells and antigenic materials have been removed. The Kerecis fish-skin material accelerates wound healing and enables tissue reconstruction.

This FDA-approved material offers advantages over existing human- and porcine-derived products, including improved manufacturing economics and a lower risk of disease transfer. Since it is derived from fish, the material is both kosher and halal compatible, eliminating cultural and religious constraints to usage, with equivalent or better clinical performance than alternative approaches.

The Kerecis material has received a U.S. patent, and has patents pending in multiple countries around the world. Kerecis materials are available in Iceland, Denmark, the UK, Turkey and several Middle East and Asian markets. Distributor inquiries are welcome. For more information, visit www.kerecis.com.

About the Nordic group of oncoplastic and reconstructive breast surgeons

The Nordic group of oncoplastic and reconstructive breast surgeons (nORBS) is a collaborative group that has, as one of its main goals, to promote training in oncoplastic and reconstructive breast surgery in the Nordic countries. The Iceland conference, which will focus on risk-reducing surgery, is relevant for experienced breast, oncoplastic breast and plastic surgeons, as well as for trainees. For more information visit www.rrsiceland2014.is.