Vericel Corp. (VCEL)

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Aastrom Announces Initiation of Commercial Sales of Bone Marrow by Marrow Donation, LLC


ANN ARBOR, Mich., June 24, 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 the initiation of commercial sales of bone marrow by Marrow Donation, LLC, the company's wholly owned bone marrow collection center located in San Diego, CA.

Aastrom founded Marrow Donation to provide high-quality bone marrow for internal research and development purposes. The company previously announced plans to expand its efforts at Marrow Donation to target the growing market for bone marrow and bone marrow-derived cells for research and development purposes across the biopharmaceutical industry.

"The initiation of commercial supply of bone marrow from Marrow Donation is an important step in our plan to create value by strategically leveraging our existing assets," said Nick Colangelo, president and CEO at Aastrom. "Based on the increasing interest in using bone marrow-derived cells for research purposes, this represents a promising new business platform for Aastrom."