In its third acquisition since it received its initial funding last fall, Cardium Therapeutics Inc. bought the assets of the Tissue Repair Co., which includes a wound healing technology and a lead product candidate to treat diabetic ulcers.

Privately held TRC will become a subsidiary of Cardium, which paid $1 million, assumed $120,000 in liabilities and agreed to provide an additional $1 million upon advancing the lead candidate, Excellerate, into a Phase II study. A DNA-activated collagen gel, Excellarate is formulated with an adenovector delivery carrier encoding human platelet-derived growth factor-B and designed for topical administration for non-healing, neuropathic diabetic foot ulcers.

It fits will well with "our basic theme to heal, protect or preserve ischemic injury," said Christopher Reinhard, chairman and CEO of San Diego-based Cardium, adding that the company's goal is to build a regenerative medicine platform comprising a mix of products at various development stages.

"Our strategy is to focus on products of today that are sold and marketed, and products of tomorrow that have the potential to change the practice of medicine," he told BioWorld Today.

Cardium gained its marketed product earlier this year when it acquired San Diego-based InnerCool Therapeutics Inc. in exchange for 2.5 million shares and a one-time $5 million payment if product sales exceed $20 million. In that deal, InnerCool, which has an FDA-cleared endovascular, catheter-based system for therapeutic hypothermia, also is a subsidiary of Cardium.

Last fall the company brought in its first funding of nearly $30 million and purchased a cardiac angiogenesis drug portfolio from Berlin-based Schering AG. At that time, the firm also merged with a subsidiary of Aires Ventures Inc. to gain a public listing. (See BioWorld Today, Oct. 21, 2005.)

The latest acquisition supports Cardium's angiogenesis and adenovector work with the addition of TRC's Gene Activated Matrix (GAM) technology, which is a biocompatible matrix made up of a gene or DNA vector encoding a growth factor or other protein. GAM was used to design Excellerate to stimulate a localized and sustained production of PDGF-B over a six- to 12-month period. That would mean only a single administration might be enough to potentially repair the foot ulcer injury.

According to the American Podiatric Medical Association, about 15 percent of diabetic patients suffer from foot ulcers, and the APMA estimates that anywhere from 14 percent to 24 percent of foot ulcer patients require an amputation.

While there are several treatment options, including topical dressings, debridement and skin grafts, only one medication has been approved: Regranex gel, a recombinant human platelet-derived growth factor protein marketed by New Brunswick, N.J.-based Johnson & Johnson. For that product, as many as 70 administrations and wound cleanings are needed over a 10-week treatment period.

Excellarate has been tested in a Phase I/II trial, with more than 80 percent of patients that completed treatment exhibiting complete closure of wounds by 14 weeks.

Based on previous work by TRC, Cardium anticipates beginning a Phase IIb study of Excellarate during the second half of next year.

If Cardium succeeds in commercializing Excellarate, the company would pay a 10 percent royalty to TRC, minus any third-party royalties, such as a payment to the University of Michigan, which had a license agreement with TRC.

In addition to foot ulcers, the GAM approach also could be investigated in bone, tissue and cartilage repair, and as an angiogenic therapeutic for ischemic heart disease.

TRC, based in San Diego, will continue focusing on that technology, and its CEO, Barbara Sosnowski, will serve as chief operating officer of the subsidiary and as vice president of biologics development at Cardium. Mark McCutchen, TRC's chief financial officer, will serve as vice president of business development for Cardium and the new subsidiary.

Also as part of the deal, Cardium is working to transfer from TRC a $1.3 million Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute to study cardiovascular angiogenesis, and "maybe bring some of our own technology into the process," Reinhard said.

Cardium is getting ready to start late-stage work with Generx (myocardial-derived FGF-4), an angiogenic therapy for angina patients. The product is designed to be administered via a cardiac catheter to stimulate the natural growth of collateral circulation that supplies blood to the heart muscle.

Earlier in the pipeline, the company has Corgentin, a candidate that uses myocardial-derived insulin-like growth factor-1 for repairing damaged cardiomyocytes following a heart attack, and Genvascor, a DNA-based endothelial nitric oxide synthase product aimed at enhancing neovascularization in patients with critical limb ischemia due to advanced peripheral arterial occlusive disease.

Cardium posted a net loss of $2.6 million for the first quarter of 2006. As of March 31, the company has $19.4 million in cash and cash equivalents. Its shares, (OTC BB:CDTP) gained 5 cents Monday to close at $2.15.