REDWOOD CITY, Calif., April 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Cardica,
Inc. (Nasdaq:
CRDC) today announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
(USPTO) has issued the company Patent No. 7,918,376 for its
proprietary Microcutter™ technology. This patent relates to
the articulation of a surgical stapler or endocutter.

“The first patent covering our proprietary Microcutter
technology to issue from a large portfolio of over 35 patent
applications that have been filed in the U.S. and Europe protects
our Microcutter technology related to articulation,” said Bernard
A. Hausen, M.D., Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of
Cardica. “Our Microcutter product line continues to move rapidly
through development. With design validation of our initial
commercial Microcutter device nearing completion, we expect
first-in-man use in Europe in the first part of this quarter for
the first device in this product line that we intend to
commercialize, the Microcutter XPRESS™ 30.”

About Cardica’s Microcutter Product Line

Cardica’s Microcutter surgical cutting and stapling product line
is designed to provide true multi-fire endoscopic stapling in a
variety of procedures, including colorectal, thoracic and general
surgery. The Microcutter product line is designed to cut and staple
continuously, allowing a surgeon to complete successive deployments
without removing the device for a cartridge reload. The first
device in the Microcutter product line that we intend to
commercialize, the Microcutter XPRESS™ 30, is 8 mm in
diameter, compared to commercialized stapling products that are at
least 12 mm in diameter. The smaller diameter of the anticipated
Microcutter line allows access through smaller, less-invasive ports
and, importantly, through trocars used for the other surgical tools
required for laparoscopic procedures. All of Cardica’s anticipated
Microcutter d

‘/>”/>

SOURCE