ANN ARBOR, Mich., Sept. 16, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aastrom Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq:ASTM), the leading developer of patient-specific expanded cellular therapies for the treatment of severe diseases and conditions, today announced that three-year results from the SUMMIT extension study on the clinical efficacy and safety of matrix-applied characterized autologous chondrocytes (MACI™) for treating cartilage defects will be presented in a poster session at the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons annual meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada starting on Tuesday, March 24, 2015. The poster is entitled "SUMMIT Extension: Matrix-induced Autologous Chondrocyte Implant vs Microfracture at 3 Years."

Two-year results from the initial phase 3, randomized, controlled SUMMIT trial demonstrated that patients with symptomatic articular cartilage defects of the knee who were treated with MACI™ showed greater improvement over baseline compared to patients treated with microfracture (Saris D, et al. Am J Sports Med. 2014 Apr 8 [Epub]). The accepted poster by authors D. Saris, A. Price, Q. Yu, S. Kili, and M. Brittberg will provide analysis of the three-year clinical efficacy and safety of the MACI™ implant for treating cartilage defects.

"We look forward to presenting updated data on the long-term efficacy and safety of MACI™ in the treatment of cartilage defects at the 2015 AAOS Annual Meeting," said Aastrom chief medical officer Dr. David Recker. "We strongly believe that MACI™ represents an advancement in the treatment of cartilage defects in the knee, and we are focused on bringing this therapy to patients who can benefit from MACI™."

About Aastrom Biosciences

Aastrom Biosciences is the leader in developing patient-specific expanded cellular therapies for use in the treatment of patients with severe diseases and conditions. Aastrom markets two autologous cell therapy products in the United States for the treatment of cartilage repair and skin replacement. Aastrom is also developing MACI™, a third-generation autologous chondrocyte implant for the treatment of cartilage defects in the knee, and ixmyelocel-T, a patient-specific multicellular therapy for the treatment of advanced heart failure due to ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy. For more information, please visit Aastrom's website at www.aastrom.com.

This document contains forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements concerning anticipated progress, objectives and expectations regarding the potential of our products, intended product development and, clinical activity timing, 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 "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 competitive developments, clinical trial and product development activities, regulatory approval requirements, the availability and allocation of resources among different potential uses, estimating the potential of our products and product candidates, market demand for our products, and our ability to supply or meet customer demand for our products. These and other significant factors are discussed in greater detail in Aastrom's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on March 13, 2014, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other filings with the SEC. 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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         The Trout Group

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         Aastrom Biosciences

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         www.aastrom.com