BOTHELL, Wash., May 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: BLFS) ("BioLife" or the "Company"), the leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of proprietary biopreservation media and automated cell thawing devices for cell and gene therapies, today announced that SAVSU Technologies, Inc. ("SAVSU") has been selected by Novartis to supply advanced cold chain management technologies for ZOLGENSMA^® (onasemnogene abeparvovec-xioi), a one-time-only gene therapy for the treatment of children less than two years old with spinal muscular atrophy ("SMA"). ZOLGENSMA was approved by the FDA on May 24, 2019. AveXis, developer of ZOLGENSMA and acquired by Novartis in April 2018 for $8.7 billion, qualified and adopted the SAVSU evo^® system to enhance in-transit visibility and improve delivery quality of ZOLGENSMA. BioLife currently owns 44% of SAVSU and has an exclusive option to purchase all remaining shares.

Mike Rice, BioLife CEO, remarked, "The approval of ZOLGENSMA brings lifesaving hope to families of children with SMA.  We congratulate Novartis for gaining FDA approval, and the SAVSU team for working tirelessly to support Novartis' extensive qualification and validation of the evo Smart Shipper and evo.is cold chain cloud app. We look forward to additional announcements this year related to new SAVSU customers and the broader adoption of SAVSU's proprietary evo cold chain management system."

About SAVSU Technologies

SAVSU is a privately held designer and manufacturer of innovative high-performance cloud-connected passive storage and transport containers for temperature sensitive biologics and pharmaceuticals. Our mission is to improve global health by greatly reducing the waste and risks associated with the improper freezing and overheating of thermal-sensitive medicines and biologics. SAVSU has developed proprietary state-of-the-art technology to ultimately lower costs and improve delivery of these most essential materials. For more information please visit www.savsu.com.

About BioLife Solutions

BioLife Solutions is a leading supplier of cell and gene therapy biopreservation tools. Our proprietary CryoStor^® freeze media and HypoThermosol^® shipping and storage media are highly valued in the regenerative medicine, biobanking and drug discovery markets. These biopreservation media products are serum-free and protein-free, fully defined, and are formulated to reduce preservation-induced cell damage and death. Our recently acquired ThawStar^® family of automated cell thawing devices reduce therapeutic and economic risk for cell and gene therapy developers by reducing the potential of administering a non-viable dose.  For more information please visit www.biolifesolutions.com, and follow BioLife on Twitter.

Cautions Regarding Forward Looking Statements

Except for historical information contained herein, this press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning the company's anticipated business and operations, the potential utility of and market for its products and services, potential revenue growth and market expansion, commercial manufacturing of our customers' products, projected financial results, cash flow and liquidity, and future announcements of new SAVSU customers. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements, including among other things, uncertainty regarding market adoption of our products or SAVSU's products; the ability of the company to implement its business strategy and those other factors described in our risk factors set forth in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. We undertake no obligation to update the forward-looking statements contained herein or to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date hereof, other than as may be required by applicable law.

Media & Investor Relations
Roderick de Greef
Chief Financial Officer
(425) 402-1400
rdegreef@biolifesolutions.com

SOURCE BioLife Solutions, Inc.