BIOSTAGE, INC. (NASDAQ:BSTG) Files An 8-K Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers

Item 5.02.

Effective as of March 16, 2017, (the Effective Date), the Board
of Directors of Biostage, Inc. (the Company) appointed Saverio
LaFrancesca, M.D., the Companys Chief Medical Officer, as
President of the Company. Dr. LaFrancesca will also continue to
serve as the Companys Chief Medical Officer. Following the
Effective Date, James McGorry, who had served as the Companys
President prior to the Effective Date, will continue to serve as
the Companys Chief Executive Officer and its principal executive
officer.

Dr. LaFrancesca, age 55, has served as the Companys Chief Medical
Officer since April 14, 2014. Dr. LaFrancesca has aunique
combination of experience that features more than 25 years of
academic clinical surgical practiceand innovative research, with
a foundation in the cardiovascular, thoracic transplantation,
cardiac assist device and regenerative medicine fields.He joined
the Company from the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery and
Transplantation at the DeBakey Heart and Vascular Center at the
Houston Methodist Hospital, where he developed the current
surgical and perfusion techniques for thoracic organ procurement
and preservation and where he was also the Director of the Exvivo
lung perfusion laboratory. Previously Dr. LaFrancesca was an
attending surgeon at the Department of Cardiopulmonary
Transplantation at the Texas Heart Institute in Houston, Texas.
He also previously held an appointment as Associate Professor of
Surgery at the Sapienza University of Rome in Rome, Italy. Dr.
LaFrancesca received his M.D. in medicine and surgery in 1985 at
theUniversity of Palermo. He performed his Residency in
Cardiovascular Surgery in the Department of Cardiovascular
Surgery at the Sapienza University of Rome. He then completed his
postdoctoral training with fellowships at the Texas Heart
Institute under the supervision of pioneer heart surgeon Denton
Cooley. He was also a Clinical/Research fellow at McGill
University in Montral, Qubec, Canada and at the Baylor College of
Medicine in Houston. He holds UNOS certifications as heart
transplant surgeon and lung transplant surgeon. He is also
certified as surgeon for the use of the HeartMate and the Jarvik
2000 left ventricular assist devices.

There are no related party transactions between the Company and
Dr. LaFrancesca, and Dr. LaFrancesca is neither related to, nor
does he have any relationship with, any existing member of the
Board of Directors of the Company or any executive officer of the
Company.

On March 16, 2017, the Company issued a press release announcing
the appointment of Dr. LaFrancesca as President of the Company. A
copy of the press release is filed herewith as Exhibit 99.1.

(d) Exhibits.

About BIOSTAGE, INC. (NASDAQ:BSTG)

Biostage, Inc., formerly Harvard Apparatus Regenerative Technology, Inc., is a biotechnology company. The Company is engaged in developing bioengineered organ implants based on its Cellframe technology. Its Cellframe technology consists of a biocompatible scaffold that is seeded with the recipient’s own cells. It is developing its Cellframe technology to treat life-threatening conditions of the esophagus, trachea or bronchus that are caused due to cancer, infection, trauma or congenital abnormalities. Its Cellframe technology is engineered to stimulate the body’s signaling pathways and natural healing process to regenerate and restore organ function. Its Cellframe technology platform is used to create organ specific Cellspan implants. Its product candidates are in development and have not yet received regulatory approval for sale anywhere in the world.

BIOSTAGE, INC. (NASDAQ:BSTG) Recent Trading Information

BIOSTAGE, INC. (NASDAQ:BSTG) closed its last trading session up +0.006 at 0.390 with 1,272,952 shares trading hands.