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Here are a few brief analogies to describe Vericel (VCEL):

• Vericel is like **Stryker for biological knee repair, not joint replacement.**
• Vericel is like **Vertex Pharmaceuticals for advanced tissue regeneration.**
• Vericel is like **Intuitive Surgical for personalized cell therapies.**

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• Maci: An autologous cellularized scaffold product for the repair of symptomatic full-thickness cartilage defects of the knee in adults.
• Epicel: A cultured epidermal autograft used as a permanent skin replacement for patients with deep dermal or full-thickness burns covering a large body surface area.
• Nexobrid: A topically administered biological orphan drug for the eschar removal (debridement) of deep partial- and full-thickness thermal burns.

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Vericel (VCEL) primarily sells its specialized cell therapies to other entities within the healthcare industry, rather than directly to individuals or to large corporations for resale or integration into their products.

Due to the fragmented nature of the healthcare market and Vericel's distribution across numerous facilities, the company does not typically have any single "major customer" (defined as accounting for 10% or more of its revenue) that it is required to disclose in its financial filings. Therefore, specific names of publicly traded customer companies with their symbols are not available.

However, Vericel's customers can be categorized by the types of healthcare institutions that purchase and utilize its products:

• Hospitals and Burn Centers: These institutions purchase Vericel's Epicel and Nexobrid products for the treatment of severe burns.
• Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs): These facilities, along with hospital outpatient departments, purchase MACI for use in orthopedic procedures to repair cartilage defects in the knee.
• Orthopedic Clinics and Sports Medicine Practices: While the procedures are performed in hospitals or ASCs, these practices represent the direct prescribers and influencers for the use of MACI.

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• MediWound Ltd. (NASDAQ: MWND)
• Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc.

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Dominick Colangelo, President & CEO

Nick Colangelo joined Vericel in 2013, bringing over 20 years of executive management and corporate development experience in the biopharmaceutical industry. Prior to Vericel, he served as President and CEO of Promedior, Inc. He spent nearly a decade with Eli Lilly and Company, where he held positions such as Director of Strategy and Business Development for Lilly's Diabetes Product Group and was a founding Managing Director of Lilly Ventures. Mr. Colangelo has extensive experience in the acquisition, development, and commercialization of products across various therapeutic areas. He holds a B.S.B.A. in Accounting and a J.D. degree.

Joe Mara, Chief Financial Officer

Joe Mara joined Vericel in 2021 with more than 20 years of financial, strategic, and operational experience, including over 14 years in the biotech industry. Most recently, he served as Vice President, Finance and Head of Investor Relations at Biogen Inc. At Biogen, Mr. Mara held several finance leadership roles, including Vice President, Global Financial Planning and Analysis and Strategic Corporate Finance, and Vice President, U.S. Finance and Operations. Before Biogen, he held finance and strategy roles in the financial services and technology industries, including at Thomson Reuters Corporation and Fidelity Investments. He earned a B.A. in Economics and International Studies and an M.B.A.

Mike Halpin, Chief Operating Officer

Mike Halpin joined Vericel in 2017. He previously served as Vice President, North America, and prior to that, Vice President, Regulatory Affairs for Genzyme's biosurgery division. Before his time at Genzyme, Mr. Halpin held several regulatory, quality, and clinical affairs positions at various medical device companies, including Abbott/MediSense, C.R. Bard, and Abiomed.

Dr. Jonathan Hopper, Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Jonathan Hopper joined Vericel in August 2018. Prior to that, he was the Senior Medical Director, Orthopedic Clinical Development at Ferring Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Hopper has also held senior medical roles such as Vice President, Global Medical Director at Stryker, and served as the Senior Medical Officer for the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

Roland DeAngelis, Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer

Roland DeAngelis previously served as the Head of the Commercial team at Vericel. His professional background also includes roles with Sanofi-Genzyme, Smith & Nephew, and Acufex Microsurgical.

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The key risks to Vericel's business include significant regulatory hurdles and product development challenges, intense market competition and the threat of technological disruption, and vulnerabilities within its supply chain exacerbated by geopolitical risks.

1. Regulatory Hurdles and Product Development Risks: Vericel's success is highly dependent on its ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approvals for its existing products and new indications, such as MACI Ankle™. The inherent novelty of Vericel's cell therapy products leads to significant challenges in product development, manufacturing, and navigating evolving regulatory requirements, which can prolong or hinder market entry and impact revenue generation. An inability to successfully complete product development activities could materially limit the company's operations.

2. Market Competition and Technological Disruption: Vericel operates in a highly competitive biopharmaceutical market focused on regenerative medicine. It faces competition from established orthopedic companies and other firms offering alternative regenerative treatments and advanced wound care. The emergence of new cell therapy platforms and disruptive technologies, including artificial intelligence, poses a continuous threat to Vericel's competitive position and market share, potentially impacting pricing and reimbursement.

3. Supply Chain Vulnerabilities and Geopolitical Risks: The company's manufacturing processes rely on third parties and specific geographical locations, creating supply chain vulnerabilities. For instance, NexoBrid production is located in Israel, and raw materials may be sourced from Taiwan. Ongoing geopolitical tensions in regions such as the Middle East or between China and Taiwan present significant risks of disruption to manufacturing operations and the overall supply chain, which could adversely affect Vericel's ability to meet customer demand.

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Avita Medical's Recell System poses a clear emerging threat to Vericel's Epicel product line. The Recell System offers a spray-on, same-day regenerative epidermal suspension prepared from a small sample of the patient's own skin, enabling rapid autologous re-epithelialization of severe burns. This technology provides a significantly faster and less complex alternative to Epicel, which requires several weeks of laboratory culture to produce autologous cultured epidermal sheets. The Recell System can reduce the need for extensive donor sites and may offer improved outcomes with less procedural burden, directly competing for patients requiring autologous cell-based treatment for full-thickness burns.

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Vericel (VCEL) has the following addressable markets for its main products in the U.S.:

• MACI (autologous cultured chondrocytes on porcine collagen membrane): The addressable market for MACI, which treats symptomatic, single or multiple full-thickness cartilage defects of the knee, is estimated to be $3 billion in the U.S.. This market could expand by an additional $1 billion to $4 billion if MACI is approved for ankle defects. Some estimates place the total addressable market for cartilage injuries at $7.6 billion to $13.5 billion annually in the U.S., considering a range of eligible patients and procedure costs.
• NexoBrid (anacaulase-bcdb): For the removal of eschar in adults with deep partial- and/or full-thickness thermal burns, the addressable market for NexoBrid is $300 million in the U.S.. The launch of NexoBrid has significantly expanded Vericel's total addressable market for burn care.
• Epicel (cultured epidermal autografts): Epicel is a permanent skin replacement for patients with deep dermal or full-thickness burns greater than or equal to 30% of total body surface area. The addressable market for Epicel in the U.S. is stated to contribute to the overall burn care market, with one source indicating a combined U.S. addressable market opportunity of $600 million for Vericel's burn care franchise, which includes Epicel and NexoBrid.

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1. Continued Growth and Expansion of MACI: MACI, Vericel's leading cartilage repair product, is anticipated to be a primary driver of revenue growth through increased volume and price. The company is focused on expanding its MACI surgeon base and seeing higher rates of biopsies and implants.
2. Successful Adoption of MACI Arthro: The recently launched MACI Arthro, an arthroscopic delivery system for MACI implants, is showing strong early indicators and is expected to provide significant growth opportunities for the MACI business. Over 800 surgeons have been trained, and initial data suggests a higher conversion rate for implanting surgeons.
3. Introduction of MACI Ankle and Label Expansion: Vericel plans to initiate a clinical trial for MACI Ankle in 2025, aiming to expand MACI's indication to include cartilage defects in the ankle. This potential label expansion is a significant long-term growth driver.
4. Growing Sales of NexoBrid: NexoBrid, an ointment for eschar removal in burn care, continues to demonstrate strong growth in volume and revenue. The company reported record quarterly revenue for NexoBrid, with a 38% year-over-year increase in a recent quarter, contributing positively to overall revenue.
5. International Expansion and Sales Force Growth: Vericel is undertaking a staged approach to international expansion for MACI, with the first phase targeting a planned launch in the U.K. in the first half of 2027, following a marketing application expected in mid-2026. Additionally, the expansion of the MACI sales force is on track to further support market penetration.

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Share Issuance

• An Amended and Restated 2022 Omnibus Incentive Plan, approved on April 30, 2025, reserves 5,088,095 shares of Vericel's common stock for issuance.
• An Amended and Restated 2015 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP), approved on April 30, 2025, reserves 2,000,000 shares of the company's common stock for issuance.
• Stock-based compensation, a non-cash expense, amounted to $36.5 million in 2024.

Capital Expenditures

• Capital expenditures in Q1 2025 were approximately $14.21 million, primarily related to a new manufacturing facility.
• The company's new Burlington facility, including depreciation and MACI tech transfer activities, contributed to increased operating expenses in Q3 2025.
• Major capital expenditures are expected to subside, which is anticipated to lead to a significant cash flow inflection.