Vascular BioSciences announces a Cooperative Research And Development Agreement with the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research to Develop Diagnostic and Therapeutic Solutions Addressing Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Secondary to Battlefield Trauma

San Diego, Calif., February 17, 2006 – Vascular BioSciences (www.vascularbiosciences.com) announces a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the United States Army Institute for Surgical Research (USAISR) to develop diagnostic and therapeutic solutions addressing acute respiratory distress syndrome secondary to battlefield trauma.

The agreement, signed by Vascular BioSciences CEO David Mann and USAISR commander, Colonel John B. Holcomb, M.D., focuses on increasing the in-hospital survival of Department of Defense personnel at risk for developing acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) as a as a result of battlefield trauma.

“This agreement reflects our ongoing efforts to further expand our combat casualty care research, and is consistent with our mission to develop medical solutions for our injured soldiers,” said Colonel John B. Holcomb, commander of the United States Army Institute for Surgical Research.

“We look forward to working with the USAISR to help save the lives of our nation’s brave fighting men and women, and are proud to contribute to our country’s military medical research efforts,” said David Mann, CEO of Vascular BioSciences. “;We look forward to expanding our collaboration with the USAISR to include further initiatives for improving combat casualty care.”

“The pathophysiology of ARDS secondary to battlefield trauma is poorly understood, and therapeutic options are limited,” said Colonel Lee Cancio, M.D., co-principal investigator, recently returned from Iraq and chief of research at the U.S. Army’s Burn Unit. “The survival of injured soldiers could be improved if we could accurately predict and diagnose ARDS in our patients while there is still time for effective counter-measures. The goal of our collaborative research with Vascular BioSciences is to develop therapeutic as well as diagnostic solutions for ARDS.”

ARDS is an enormous problem in civilian as well as military hospitals. According to the non-profit ARDS Foundation (www.ardsusa.org), over 150,000 cases were reported last year in the U.S. resulting in approximately 75,000 deaths. If the other causes of ARDS such as sepsis, severe sepsis, and multi-organ failure syndrome are combined with ARDS, then over 750,000 cases occur annually resulting in 215,000 deaths or 9.3% of annual deaths in the US.

About the United States Army Institute for Surgical Research (USAISR):The U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research (USAISR) is part of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC) and is collocated with Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC). The USAISR is dedicated to both laboratory and clinical trauma research. Its mission is to provide requirements-driven combat casualty care medical solutions and products for injured soldiers from self-aid through definitive care across the full spectrum of military operations; provide state-of-the-art trauma, burn, and critical care to Department of Defense beneficiaries around the world; and provide Burn Special Medical Augmentation Response Teams.

The USAISR has recently supported Operation Iraqi Freedom by deploying surgeons and nurses into theater, training over 1,200 deployed personnel, establishing a semiautomated nationwide daily burn bed availability system, providing logistical support, creating a widely utilized Army Knowledge Online distance learning website, assisting in fielding new hemorrhage control products on the battlefield, and receiving every significant burn casualty from the conflict.

For more information contact:
U.S. Army Institute for Surgical Research
Telephone: (210) 916-3219
3400 Rawley E. Chambers Avenue
Fort Sam Houston, Texas 78234-6315

Web Site: WWW.USAISR.AMEDD.ARMY.MIL

The U.S Government or the USAISR does not directly or indirectly endorse any product or service provided, or to be provided, by Vascular BioSciences, and this press release shall not in any way imply an endorsement of any such product or service.