HONOLULU, HI -- Hawaii Chitopure, Inc. is pleased to announce that the STS-118 Space Tissue Loss Experiments, conducted by Hawaii Chitopure and Tissue Genesis Inc., was ranked the number one DoD-sponsored mission, and number five overall out of 51 reviewed candidates by the 2007 DoD Space Experiments Review Board (SERB).

“We are pleased to receive this acknowledgement from NASA. This ranking supports our ongoing medical research and the value of Hawaii Chitopure’s efforts,” stated Keiki-Pua Dancil, PhD, Executive Vice President of Hawaii Chitopure.

This ranking, in addition to experiment requirements and readiness, flight opportunities and available resources is used by the Space Test Program to prioritize future candidate experiments for spaceflight.

Hawaii Chitopure’s experiment examined the effects of microgravity-induced stress on wound healing and inflammation, and the role of chitosan arginine in accelerating wound healing and mitigating infection. The preliminary results from the shuttle mission suggest that chitosan arginine increases the viability of cells subjected to lethal doses of endotoxin, the component of bacterial cell walls responsible for inducing septic shock, which offers great promise for improved treatment capabilities for traumatic injuries.

“We are proud of this achievement; being ranked the number one DoD-sponsored mission is a tremendous honor,” said Hawaii Chitopure co-founder and Chairman Dr. William P. Wiesmann. Wiesmann added, “The shuttle mission provided Hawaii Chitopure with the opportunity to investigate the impact of our chitosan materials on immune cell function. Our continuing research efforts will explore additional potential therapeutic targets for Hawaii Chitopure’s modified chitosans, and should lead to new and improved treatment capabilities for traumatic injuries.”