Business Description

Unless the context otherwise requires, all references in this section to “SeaStar Medical”, the “Company”, “we” “us” or “our” refer to SeaStar Medical Holding Corporation and our consolidated subsidiaries following the Business Combination (as defined herein), other than certain historical information that refers to the business of SeaStar Medical, Inc. (the “Predecessor”) prior to the consummation of the Business Combination. Overview We are a commercial-stage healthcare company focused on transformational treatments for critically ill patients facing organ failure and potential loss of life. Our Selective Cytopheretic Device (“SCD”) is designed as a disease-modifying device that neutralizes over-active immune cells and stops the cytokine storm that yields destructive hyperinflammation and creates a cascade of events that wreak havoc in the patient’s body. It has broad potential applications for patients suffering from both acute and chronic kidney disease as well as cardiovascular and other serious inflammatory diseases. We received Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) approval on February 21, 2024, under a Humanitarian Device Exemption (“HDE”) for our pediatric SCD therapy. It is the only FDA approved product for use in pediatric patients with acute kidney injury (“AKI”) due to sepsis or a septic condition requiring kidney replacement therapy. We shipped our first commercial pediatric SCD (“QUELIMMUNE”) in July 2024. In addition, we are currently conducting a pivotal clinical trial, also referred to as "NEUTRALIZE-AKI" to assess the safety and efficacy of the SCD therapy in critically ill adult patients with AKI requiring continuous renal replacement therapy (“CRRT”). We are also conducting a feasibility study of the SCD therapy in adult patients with Cardiorenal Syndrome ("CRS") awaiting left ventricular assist device ("LVAD") implantation. Our SCD therapy has been awarded six Breakthrough Device Designations (“BDD”) by the FDA. These BDDs cover multiple therapeutic indications for the use of our SCD therapy in adult patients with AKI, CRS awaiting LVAD implantation, hepatorenal syndrome, end stage renal disease (“ESRD”), and systemic inflammatory response while undergoing cardiac surgery. The BDD enables the potential for a speedier pathway to approval and the ability to have more frequent and flexible meetings with FDA. The inflammatory response is essential to the healing process of critical organs; however, the overactivation of inflammatory cells, which can be triggered by many different bodily insults such as trauma, surgery or infection, can send the body into shock and cause severe damage to a variety of critical organs such as the heart, lungs and kidneys. Central to inflammation are the cells within blood and lymph circulatory systems, called white blood cells (primarily neutrophils and monocytes). In a normal inflammatory response, neutrophils are the first immune cells to arrive at the site and are key to the entire immune response that kills pathogens and promotes tissue repair. These inflammatory cells release chemicals (cytokines) that trigger the immune system to eliminate foreign pathogens or damaged tissue, enhancing the immune response. If the inflammatory response becomes excessive and dysregulated (referred to as proinflammatory), the inflammatory cells will continue to produce cytokines and other damaging molecules, further enhancing the dysregulated immune response, and altering feedback mechanisms that regulate the immune system. This results in damaging hyperinflammation spreading uncontrollably to other parts of the body, often leading to acute and potentially chronic solid organ dysfunction or failure, including the heart, lung, kidney, liver, and even death. This hyperinflammatory response is also known as the “cytokine storm,” referring to the body’s reaction to the category of small-secreted proteins released by hyperinflammatory cells that affect communication between cells. Currently, there are no therapeutic options that specifically neutralize the white blood cells that are primarily responsible for the destructive hyperinflammatory response. Clinicians typically address hyperinflammation with therapies that are either immunosuppressive or that target a specific cytokine, both of which are generally suboptimal in the treatment of hyperinflammation.…