ANN ARBOR, Mich., Dec. 19, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aastrom Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq:ASTM), the leading developer of patient-specific expanded multicellular therapies for the treatment of severe chronic cardiovascular diseases, today announced that it has been granted a key composition-of-matter patent from the Australian Patent Office for ixmyelocel-T, Aastrom's cell therapy product candidate.

The issued patent, entitled "Mixed Cell Populations for Tissue Repair and Separation Technique for Cell Processing," provides protection for key characteristics of ixmyelocel-T through 2027. Aastrom now holds patent protection for ixmyelocel-T in Australia, the United States and the European Union.

"Patent approval in Australia expands our opportunity to commercialize ixmyelocel-T in multiple therapeutic markets and consider a range of partnership opportunities and other strategies to advance ixmyelocel-T through clinical development," said Nick Colangelo, president and chief executive officer at Aastrom Biosciences.

Aastrom is currently conducting the Phase 2b ixCELL-DCM clinical study of ixmyelocel-T in the United States and Canada for the treatment of advanced heart failure due to ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy, a progressive disease of heart muscle and a leading cause of heart failure and heart transplantation.

About Aastrom Biosciences

Aastrom Biosciences is the leader in developing patient-specific, expanded multicellular therapies for use in the treatment of patients with severe, chronic cardiovascular diseases. The company's proprietary cell-processing technology enables the manufacture of ixmyelocel-T, a patient-specific multicellular therapy expanded from a patient's own bone marrow and delivered directly to damaged tissues. Aastrom has advanced ixmyelocel-T into late-stage clinical development, including a Phase 2b clinical trial in patients with advanced heart failure due to ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy. For more information, please visit Aastrom's website at www.aastrom.com.

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This document contains forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements concerning clinical trial plans and progress, objectives and expectations, clinical activity timing, intended product development, the performance and contribution of certain individuals and expected timing of collecting and analyzing treatment data, all of which involve certain risks and uncertainties. These statements are often, but are not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as "anticipates," "intends," "estimates," "plans," "expects," "we believe," "we intend," and similar words or phrases, or future or conditional verbs such as "will," "would," "should," "potential," "could," "may," or similar expressions. Actual results may differ significantly from the expectations contained in the forward-looking statements. Among the factors that may result in differences are the inherent uncertainties associated with the closing of the offering described herein, Aastrom's intended use of proceeds in connection with the offering, clinical trial and product development activities, regulatory approval requirements, competitive developments, and the availability of resources and the allocation of resources among different potential uses. These and other significant factors are discussed in greater detail in Aastrom's Registration Statement on Form S-1 described above, Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements reflect management's current views and Aastrom does not undertake to update any of these forward-looking statements to reflect a change in its views or events or circumstances that occur after the date of this release except as required by law.

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