Vericel Corp. | $VCEL Stock | Shares Gain Momentum On FDA Approval

Vericel Corp. (NASDAQ: VCEL)

 

 

Vericel Corp News & Technicals

On Wednesday before the market opened, shares of VCEL were being bought up on the announcement that the FDA has approved MACI for the treatment of symptomatic cartilage defects in the knee's of adults. This is great news for the company who has been working on this for the past couple years in a SUMMIT clinical study that proved beneficial in the long-term in patients with cartilage defects.

 

Looking at the 5-minute chart above you'll see that shares of VCEL are on the move premarket with plenty of volume and are looking to gap above the $3 resistance level with shares currently trading around $4. VCEL is considered a low float stock with only 19 million shares and if buyers keep bidding up prices we could see a really nice pop at the open. Expect shares to be more volatile than normal with increased spreads and fast action. This could be a great candidate for a gap and go trade above premarket highs currently sitting at $4.75.

 

Executive Comments

"The treatment of articular cartilage defects in the knee is challenging because articular cartilage in adults has minimal capacity to repair itself," said David Recker, MD, chief medical officer of Vericel.  "While orthopedic surgeons have long understood that autologous chondrocyte implantation can regenerate cartilage tissue, the previous surgical procedure was technically complex and time consuming, and the indicated patient population was limited.  MACI is the first product to show a statistically significantly greater improvement in KOOS pain and function scores compared to microfracture, a commonly performed alternative surgical treatment for cartilage repair, in a well-controlled Phase 3 clinical study.  With the introduction of MACI, orthopedic surgeons will have a simplified treatment option available for a broader patient population supported by solid clinical evidence." -GlobeNewswire

 

Company Profile

Vericel Corp. engages in the development of patient-specific expanded cellular therapies for use in the treatment of patients with severe diseases and conditions. It markets two cell therapy products in the United States of America, Carticel (autologous cultured chondrocytes), an autologous chondrocyte implant for the treatment of cartilage defects in the knee and Epicel (cultured epidermal autografts), a permanent skin replacement for the treatment of patients with deep dermal or full thickness burns. The company was founded on March 24, 1989 and is headquartered in Cambridge, MA. -MarketWatch

 

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