The net loss for the first quarter of 2023 was $5.3 million, or $0.40 per share, compared with a net loss of $1.0 million, or $0.14 per share, for the first quarter of 2022.
The Company reported cash of $725,000 as of March 31, 2023, compared with $47,000 as of December 31, 2022. At the closing of the merger agreement in October 2022, the Company entered into forward purchase agreements of shares and warrants with the potential to generate up to $10 million in proceeds, depending on the market price of shares. The Company also entered into a $100 million equity line of credit. In March 2023 the Company closed a $3.3 million first tranche of a $9.8 million private placement convertible debt offering, and in recently closed on the second tranche of $2.2 million.
About Hyperinflammation and the Selective Cytopheretic Device (SCD)
SeaStar Medical has identified a clear, urgent, unmet clinical need for technology that addresses hyperinflammation, the overproduction or overactivity of inflammatory cells that can lead to damage of vital organs. It occurs when the body overproduces inflammatory effector cells and other molecules that can be toxic, damaging to vital organs and result in multi-organ failure and even death. This is known as the cytokine storm. Current treatment options have shown limited efficacy in managing a cytokine storm with many simply treating symptoms instead of stopping the inflammatory effector cells that cause the cytokine storm.
The Selective Cytopheretic Device, or SCD, is a first-in-class, cell-directed extracorporeal therapy. Unlike pathogen removal and other blood-purification tools, the SCD selectively targets the most highly activated proinflammatory neutrophils and monocytes. The Company has observed that these most highly activated immune cells are turned off in a low calcium environment. The SCD is integrated into existing hemodialysis equipment that is widely available in ICUs across the U.S. It requires less than 15 minutes for physicians or hospital staff to attach. The SCD therapy mimics nature by creating a unique micro-environment, attracting these highly activated effector cells and neutralizing them in a low calcium setting, with these cells then returned into the body through the blood, and the body is signaled to focus on repair.
Clinical Results with the SCD in AKI
SCD therapy has produced favorable clinical results in critically ill adults and children with AKI in the ICU being treated with CKRT, today’s standard of care. The SCD has reduced mortality rates by up to 50% in four non-COVID clinical trials in which adult and pediatric AKI patients had on average three organ failures and with a significant number of patients also being septic. A similar reduction in mortality was observed in a study of 22 COVID-19 patients with AKI and/or acute respiratory distress syndrome.
About SeaStar Medical
SeaStar Medical is a medical technology company that is redefining how extracorporeal therapies may reduce the consequences of excessive inflammation on vital organs. SeaStar Medical’s novel technologies rely on science and innovation to provide life-saving solutions to critically ill patients. The Company is developing and commercializing cell-directed extracorporeal therapies that target the effector cells that drive systemic inflammation, causing direct tissue damage and secreting a range of pro-inflammatory cytokines that initiate and propagate imbalanced immune responses. For more information visit www.seastarmedical.com or visit us on LinkedIn or Twitter.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1955. These forward-looking statements