Advanced BioHealing to Highlight Standard of Care for Treating Diabetic Foot Ulcers at Save A Leg, Save A Life National Conference

WESTPORT, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Advanced BioHealing, Inc. (ABH), a leader in commercializing the promise of regenerative medicine, announced that it will host two events focusing on the standard of care for treating diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) at the second annual Save A Leg, Save A Life National Conference to be held September 2 – 4, 2010 at the Peabody Orlando hotel in Orlando, Fla.

“There is much work that remains to be done for the treatment of DFUs, but we have already made great strides”

ABH’s Heal2gether Partnership Program, a community health education program, has partnered with Save A Leg, Save A Life Foundation to develop a community outreach campaign that aims to increase awareness of DFUs and ultimately help people who are afflicted with wounds and other complications of diabetes and peripheral arterial disease.

The 2010 National Conference is focused on convening dedicated Wound Care and Vascular Specialists to start a new chapter in multidisciplinary cooperation in the missions of reducing amputations, reducing mortality, improving awareness and advancing provider education.

“There is much work that remains to be done for the treatment of DFUs, but we have already made great strides,” said Dean Tozer, Senior Vice President of ABH. “By partnering with organizations such as Save A Leg, Save A Life, we hope to continue to educate medical professionals on ways to effectively manage DFUs and increase patient adherence. Our ultimate goal is to help patients achieve a greater standard of living and a return to normalcy after their wound heals.”

As the manufacturer of Dermagraft®, a bio-engineered skin substitute approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treatment of DFUs, ABH is dedicated to raising awareness about DFUs and aims to help the hundreds of thousands of people across the nation who are at risk of developing the wounds.

ABH will support and/or host the following events at the 2010 National Conference:

• General Session (Thursday, September 2^nd from 11:20 to 11:45 a.m.)—In a session titled, “Consensus Recommendations on Advancing the Standard of Care for Treating Neuropathic Foot Ulcers in Patients with Diabetes,” Robert J. Snyder, DPM, CWS will address the evolution of DFU treatment, the subsequent formation of a new standard of care, and how doctors can implement this new standard in their practice.
• Hands-On Workshop (Saturday, September 4^th from 1:30 to 5:00 p.m.)—Attendees will have the opportunity to practice preparing and applying Dermagraft during this hands-on workshop. To date, ABH has supplied more than 200,000 pieces of Dermagraft to over 1,000 wound care centers and outpatient clinics nationwide.

About Advanced BioHealing, Inc.

Advanced BioHealing develops and commercializes living cell therapies that repair damaged human tissue and enable the body to heal itself. A privately held company, Advanced BioHealing maintains its corporate office in Westport, Conn. with additional sites in La Jolla, Calif. and Nashville, Tenn. To learn more about Advanced BioHealing, please visit the Company’s web site at www.ABH.com.

About Dermagraft®

Dermagraft is a bio-engineered skin substitute that assists in restoring damaged tissue and supports the body’s natural healing process. It is FDA approved to treat diabetic foot ulcers and is the focus of an ongoing pivotal trial in subjects with venous leg ulcers (VLUs) to assess the product’s safety and efficacy in the promotion of healing VLUs. To date, more than 200,000 applications of Dermagraft have been administered in over 1,000 wound care centers and outpatient clinics nationwide. For videos of Dermagraft in action, case studies, research and more, visit www.Dermagraft.com.

About Diabetic Foot Ulcers

In 2007, 23.6 million people, or 7.8% of the American population, had diabetes. Referred to as the “epidemic of our time” by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, incidence of diabetes is expected to increase 165% by 2050. The World Health Organization estimates 171 million people have diabetes globally and that number is expected to double by 2030. As a chronic medical condition among many diabetes patients, it is estimated that 15-25% will develop a foot ulcer in their lifetime, putting them at a 14-24% risk for lower limb amputation, and a 45% chance of death within five years if not managed properly. Also generating a significant financial impact, each new incidence of diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) in the U.S. costs nearly $40,000 to treat in the first two years. In the U.S. and Europe combined, DFU incidence is estimated to be between 1.7 to 2.5 million annually. Risk of death from unhealed neuropathic ulcers like DFUs is greater than both breast cancer and prostate cancer combined.