BioCardia and StemCardia Announce Biotherapeutic Delivery Partnership

• Partnership targets heart failure, the leading cause of death and a condition with limited treatment options
• BioCardia’s biotherapeutic delivery system with established safety profile enables minimally invasive transplantation of StemCardia’s off-the-shelf cardiac muscle cells

SUNNYVALE, Calif., March 13, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BioCardia, Inc. (Nasdaq: BCDA), a biotechnology company focused on advancing late-stage cell therapy interventions for cardiovascular disorders, and StemCardia, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on cell and gene therapy to re-muscularize the failing heart, today announced a long-term partnership to advance StemCardia’s investigational pluripotent stem cell product candidate for the treatment of heart failure.

Under the partnership, BioCardia is the exclusive biotherapeutic delivery partner for StemCardia’s cell therapy candidate through studies expected to result in FDA approval of an investigational new drug application (IND) and the anticipated Phase I/II clinical development to follow.

“BioCardia has established safe and minimally invasive delivery of cellular medicines directly into the heart,” said Chuck Murry, MD, PhD, StemCardia’s Founder and CEO. “Having worked with BioCardia to successfully deliver our bona fide cardiac muscle cells in large animal models of heart failure, we are excited for this partnership to accelerate clinical development and broaden future commercial access to an off-the-shelf heart regeneration treatment.”      

“StemCardia’s team encompasses recognized leaders in the field of cardiac regenerative medicine who are pursuing an elegant strategy to repair the failing heart. We look forward to supporting their efforts with our experienced team and proven, proprietary Helix biotherapeutic delivery system,” said BioCardia CEO Peter Altman, PhD. “This partnership is expected to enhance future treatment options for millions of people suffering from heart failure, offset the costs of biotherapeutic delivery development for our own programs, and provide our investors with meaningful revenue sharing should our efforts together contribute to StemCardia’s successful therapeutic development.”