Business
Vericel Provides Business and Financial Updates
First Quarter Preliminary Unaudited Product Revenues Increased Approximately 21% Over First Quarter 2019 Full Year 2020 Financial Guidance Withdrawn Due to
About this update from Vericel Corporation
[{"type":"text","content":"First Quarter Preliminary Unaudited Product Revenues Increased Approximately 21% Over First Quarter 2019\n Full Year 2020 Financial Guidance Withdrawn Due to Uncertainty Regarding Impact of COVID-19 CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 02, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL), a leader in advanced therapies for the sports medicine and severe burn care markets, today announced preliminary unaudited product revenue growth for the quarter ended March 31, 2020, and provided business and financial updates related to the COVID-19 pandemic.Over the past several weeks, Vericel has implemented several measures to safeguard the health and well-being of its employees, their families, and healthcare providers, while continuing to supply its autologous cell therapy products MACI® (autologous cultured chondrocytes on porcine collagen membrane) and Epicel® (cultured epidermal autografts) to patients with knee cartilage and severe burn injuries. At this time, all Vericel employees not directly involved in the production and delivery of MACI or Epicel are working from home. For production-related teams, the Company has implemented additional measures to protect the health and safety of its workforce. Vericel representatives will also continue to provide field-based support for surgical cases, as needed, in compliance with applicable government mandated business activity restrictions and facility access rules. “First and foremost, our thoughts are with those affected by the virus and we are especially thankful to all healthcare workers for their critical efforts to support patients during this challenging time,” said Nick Colangelo, President and Chief Executive Officer of Vericel. “While our MACI business has been impacted by the restrictions on elective surgical procedures, the fundamentals of our business remain strong. Prior to cancellations that occurred in the last two weeks of the quarter, MACI was on track to exceed revenue growth guidance and we believe that most patients will reschedule cases to the extent possible following this crisis. In addition, we believe that Epicel may be less directly impacted by the pandemic given the critical nature of severe burn injuries. We are implementing a number of initiatives to maintain our near-term and future growth opportunities while supporting patients and reducing non-essential discret...