CryoLife says company unfazed by money, legal problems

<p>Human tissue supplier CryoLife Inc. says it is unfazed by its legal and financial problems and believes its clients are confident in the company and its products.</p><p>Spokesman Joseph Schepers said this week that the Kennesaw-based company is optimistic about its situation.</p><p>We have maintained a strong relationship with our procurement, the procurement agencies and the surgeons who use both the processed cardiac heart valves and BioGlue, he said.</p><p>CryoLife lost $32.3 million in 2003, compared to a loss of $27.8 million in 2002. In the fourth quarter, the company reported a net loss of $7.2 million, compared to a loss of $5.7 million for the same period in 2002.</p><p>In April, the company settled a lawsuit for an undisclosed amount of money with the family of 23-year-old Brian Lykins of St. Cloud, Minn., who died in Nov. 2001, four days after receiving a soft-tissue implant from CryoLife during reconstructive knee surgery, according to the Food and Drug Administration.</p><p>In December, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the FDA began investigating CryoLife after a Colorado teenager contracted a rare strep infection just days after receiving CryoLife tissue during a knee transplant.</p><p>On a positive note, CryoLife said that worldwide sales of BioGlue, a surgical adhesive, increased 39 percent in the fourth quarter to $7.8 million, compared to $5.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2002. The company said it expects BioGlue revenues to increase to between $32 million and $34 million in 2004.</p><p>CryoLife is the nations largest supplier of living human tissue for implantation.</p><p>___</p><p>Information from: Marietta Daily Journal</p>