Innovative Cardica Technology for Microlobectomy Procedures Featured in Presentation at STS/AATS Tech-Con 2016

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Jan. 25, 2016 -- Cardica, Inc. (Nasdaq:CRDC) today announced that the company’s MicroCutter XCHANGE^® 30, the world’s first and only five-millimeter surgical stapler with the capability to articulate 80 degrees, was featured in a “Lung Surgery of the Future” presentation by Joel Dunning, M.D., cardiothoracic surgeon at James Cook University Hospital, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery in Middlesbrough, U.K., at The Society of Thoracic Surgeons and American Association for Thoracic Surgery’s Tech Conference (STS/AATS Tech-Con) on Saturday in Phoenix, Ariz.

Approximately 150,000 thoracic surgical procedures are performed in the U.S. each year in patients undergoing treatment for lung cancer. Dr. Dunning has pioneered an innovative new procedure called microlobectomy, an even less invasive technique for minimally invasive video-assisted thoracic surgery, or VATS.

Microlobectomy is an innovative adaptation of well-established techniques in which the lungs are accessed through small incisions, or access ports, made between the patient’s ribs. In adults, ribs are spaced eight to ten millimeters apart and a delicate nerve runs under each rib. During traditional lobectomy (removal of a lobe of the lung) procedures, where a twelve-millimeter surgical stapler is used, this nerve is repeatedly squeezed between the rib and surgical stapler at the access ports. Trauma to the nerve leads to post-operative pain and longer recovery times.

In his presentation, Dr. Dunning describes microlobectomy, a procedure in which a utility incision is placed below the ribs. During the procedure, Cardica’s MicroCutter XCHANGE 30 reaches the lungs through smaller access ports between the patient’s ribs, reducing trauma to the adjacent nerves.
  
“Due to its much less invasive nature, microlobectomy promises reduced patient pain, faster recoveries, and shortened hospital stays. Cardica’s MicroCutter XCHANGE 30 is a key enabling technology for the technique,” said Dr. Dunning. “The device is easy to use, with a narrow curved tip that makes it very easy to get the surgical stapler around the vessel with a minimum of tissue dissection and trauma.  Its wide range of articulation enables precise placement and maneuverability in tight spots. In addition, the five-millimeter shaft allows the surgeon to reduce their port size to only 5mm in the intercostal spaces rather than larger 12mm conventional ports.”

“Microlobectomy is a significant advance in minimally invasive thoracic surgery today,” said Julian Nikolchev, president and CEO of Cardica. “The enthusiasm of the clinical community at STS/AATS for the potential of microlobectomy with the MicroCutter XCHANGE 30 is encouraging to the Cardica team. We are committed to supporting surgeons in advancing minimally invasive techniques, which hold the potential for improved patient outcomes and lower procedure costs.”

To view Dr. Dunning’s complete presentation at Tech-Con and for more information about microlobectomy, visit www.microlobectomy.com.

About the MicroCutter XCHANGE 30

The MicroCutter XCHANGE 30, the world’s first and only five-millimeter surgical stapler that articulates to 80 degrees, is a cartridge-based minimally invasive surgical stapling system. The device’s small size and articulation range is designed to enhance the surgeon’s access and visualization at the surgical site, and to mitigate limitations on the advancement of minimally invasive surgical approaches created by larger stapling devices. As the smallest-profile articulating stapler available today, the MicroCutter XCHANGE 30 may reduce the amount of dissection and tissue handling required to position the stapler in confined spaces, enabling access to difficult-to-reach anatomy.

About Cardica

Cardica designs and manufactures proprietary stapling and anastomotic devices for cardiac and minimally invasive surgical procedures. Cardica's technology portfolio is intended to reduce operating time and facilitate minimally invasive and robot-assisted surgeries. Cardica’s MicroCutter XCHANGE^® 30, that includes a cartridge-based articulating surgical stapling device with a five-millimeter shaft diameter and staples, is manufactured and cleared for use in the United States for transection and resection in multiple open or minimally invasive urologic, thoracic and pediatric surgical procedures, as well as application for transection, resection and/or creation of anastomoses in the small and large intestine and the transection of the appendix. The MicroCutter XCHANGE 30 White Cartridge staple has application in vascular tissue. In addition, Cardica manufactures and markets its automated anastomosis systems, the C-Port^®Distal Anastomosis Systems and PAS-Port^® Proximal Anastomosis System for coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, and has shipped over 56,500 units throughout the world.

Forward-Looking Statements

The statements in this press release regarding Cardica’s beliefs as to the benefits expected to be obtained from the use of the MicroCutter XCHANGE® 30, are "forward-looking statements." There are a number of important factors that could cause results to differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements, including: that through the use of the MicroCutter XCHANGE 30, microlobectomy will reduce patient pain, result in faster recoveries, or result in shortened hospital stays; as well as other risks detailed from time to time in Cardica’s reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2015, under the caption “Risk Factors,” filed on November 12, 2015. Cardica expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein. You are encouraged to read Cardica’s reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, available at www.sec.gov.

Contact:

Bob Newell
Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer
(650) 331-7133
[email protected]