Cardiovascular Device Update articles from December 2003

Cardiovascular Device Update archives from December 2003

Cell therapies and less-invasive technologies highlighted at AHA.(CDU at the American Heart Association, Part 1 of 2)
December 1, 2003... ORLANDO, Florida -- The 2003 meeting of the American Heart Association (AHA, Dallas, Texas), held here in early November, provided a window on the most recent developments in the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease, and on key new...

Optimizer II seeks a niche in weaponry against heart failure.
December 1, 2003... ORLANDO, Florida -- The armamentarium of devices to shock and assist the pumping action of the heart seems to have grown rather full, with seemingly little room for new ones. Pacemakers, defibrillators, ventricular assist devices and even the...

New TMR data from PLC, CardioGenesis.(AHA notebook)
December 1, 2003... ORLANDO, Florida -- The frenzied pace of discovery in the cardiovascular sector was reflected at the American Heart Association's (AHA; Dallas, Texas) annual scientific sessions with a flurry of significant new data presented at the cavernous...

UK issues new toolkit to boost coronary care.(Report from Europe)
December 1, 2003... A CDU Staff Report The UK Department of Health has unveiled a new framework directed toward helping improve services for those suffering from heart disease. A new toolkit, the National Workforce Competence Framework for Coronary Heart...

Andromed.(Acquisitions)
December 1, 2003... * Andromed (Montreal, Quebec) said that it plans to divest its Androfact system in order to refocus its activities on its Androsonix technology platform while developing additional commercial partners for its Androscope family of products. The...

Angiotech Pharmaceuticals (Vancouver, British Columbia) completed its acquisition of STS Biopolymers (Henrietta, New York) in an all-cash transaction totaling about $23 million.(Acquisitions)
December 1, 2003... * Angiotech Pharmaceuticals (Vancouver, British Columbia) completed its acquisition of STS Biopolymers (Henrietta, New York) in an all-cash transaction totaling about $23 million. STS is a privately owned company that specializes in the...

RoundTable Healthcare Partners (Lake Forest, Illinois), an operating-oriented private equity firm focused on the healthcare industry, has closed on its acquisition of Argon Medical Devices (Athens, Texas), the vascular products business of Maxxim Medical (Oldsmar, California).(Acquisitions)
December 1, 2003... * RoundTable Healthcare Partners (Lake Forest, Illinois), an operating-oriented private equity firm focused on the healthcare industry, has closed on its acquisition of Argon Medical Devices (Athens, Texas), the vascular products business of...

Cypher problems no more than bare stents.(Business developments)
December 1, 2003... In the wake of late-October reports of adverse events with Cordis' (Miami Lakes, Florida) Cypher drug-eluting stent, the Johnson & Johnson (New Brunswick, New Jersey) unit sponsored a webcast in early December that included prominent...

GE Medical Systems (Waukesha, Wisconsin) and Guidant (Indianapolis, Indiana) have entered into a long-term relationship to advance and improve patient care.(Agreements)
December 1, 2003... * GE Medical Systems (Waukesha, Wisconsin) and Guidant (Indianapolis, Indiana) have entered into a long-term relationship to advance and improve patient care. Under the agreement, the companies will embark on several initiatives to integrate...

Possis Medical (Minneapolis, Minnesota) has signed a letter of intent with Angiometrx, a subsidiary of Medical Ventures (Richmond, British Columbia), to act as the exclusive distributor of the Angiometrx Metricath 1000 console and measurement catheter products in the U.S.(Agreements)
December 1, 2003... * Possis Medical (Minneapolis, Minnesota) has signed a letter of intent with Angiometrx, a subsidiary of Medical Ventures (Richmond, British Columbia), to act as the exclusive distributor of the Angiometrx Metricath 1000 console and measurement...

Quinton Cardiology Systems (Bothell, Washington), a global developer of advanced cardiology solutions, and Nihon Kohden America (Foothill Ranch, California), a global developer of medical technology, signed a joint marketing agreement.(Agreements)
December 1, 2003... * Quinton Cardiology Systems (Bothell, Washington), a global developer of advanced cardiology solutions, and Nihon Kohden America (Foothill Ranch, California), a global developer of medical technology, signed a joint marketing agreement....

Third Wave Technologies (Madison, Wisconsin), a molecular diagnostics developer, said that Mayo Medical Laboratories (MML), the international reference laboratory of the Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minnesota), has selected the company's Invader technology as its genetic testing platform for key blood-clotting and cardiovascular disease risk factors.(Agreements)
December 1, 2003... * Third Wave Technologies (Madison, Wisconsin), a molecular diagnostics developer, said that Mayo Medical Laboratories (MML), the international reference laboratory of the Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minnesota), has selected the company's Invader...

'Back to basics' exams clearly still important.(Market Updates)
December 1, 2003... Physical examinations can provide critical information unavailable by other means to help patients experiencing urgent cardiac care issues, such as heart attack or unstable chest pain, according to research conducted at the Cleveland Clinic...

CardioGenesis.(Personnel File)
December 1, 2003... * CardioGenesis (Foothill Ranch, California) reported that Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Michael Quinn has resumed the position of president, effective immediately, replacing Darrell Eckstein, who left the company to pursue other...

LipoScience.(Personnel File)
December 1, 2003... * Richard Pinnola has been appointed chief operating officer of LipoScience (Raleigh, North Carolina). He previously served as vice president of marketing and commercial development at TriPath Imaging and marketing director with Becton...

Neoprobe.(Personnel File)
December 1, 2003... * Richard Linder Jr. has joined Neoprobe (Dublin, Ohio) as vice president, sales and marketing. Linder has been working with Neoprobe for the past month in a consulting capacity and will formally assume his duties Nov.1. His background includes...

PDSHeart.(Personnel File)
December 1, 2003... * Gregory Marsh has been appointed chief financial officer of PDSHeart (West Palm Beach, Florida). Marsh joins the company from AmeriPath, where he was vice president and CFO. PDSHeart is a provider of cardiac telemedicine monitoring services.

Strawn, Arnold, Leech and Ashpitz.(Personnel File)
December 1, 2003... * John Groover has joined the executive search firm of Strawn, Arnold, Leech and Ashpitz (Austin, Texas) as executive vice president, focusing on the medical device sector. Groover most recently was president of Carbomedics and has prior...

Ventracor.(Personnel File)
December 1, 2003... * Ventracor (Sydney, Australia) reported the resignation of chief financial officer and company secretary David Smullen. Ventracor is the developer of the VentrAssist Left Ventricular Assist System (LVAS), a third-generation LVAS featuring only...

WorldHeart.(Personnel File)
December 1, 2003... * WorldHeart (Ottawa, Ontario) reported the addition of John Marinchak to the position of director of sales, North America. Marinchak most recently served as international sales manager for Thoratec. WorldHeart is focused on the development and...

Thoratec starts trial of axial-flow HeartMate II.(Product Pipeline)
December 1, 2003... In what constitutes a new phase in the development of its technology for the heart assist market, Thoratec (Pleasanton, California) last month reported the start of its Phase I safety trial for its HeartMate II axial-flow left ventricular...

Alsius.(Product Pipeline)
December 1, 2003... * Alsius (Irvine, California), has received 510(k) clearance from the FDA to market its ICY and Fortius catheters in combination with the company's CoolGard 3000 Thermal Regulation System. The products are indicated for use in cardiac surgery...

Biotronik (Lake Oswego, Oregon) reported the first U.S. implantation of an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) that provides three essential therapies in a single device: cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) for treating heart failure, atrial therapy for atrial tachyarrhythmias, and ICD therapy for ventricular tachyarrhythmias.(Product Pipeline)
December 1, 2003... * Biotronik (Lake Oswego, Oregon) reported the first U.S. implantation of an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) that provides three essential therapies in a single device: cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) for treating heart...

CardioTech International (Woburn, Massachusetts) said it entered Phase II trials for its CardioPass coronary artery bypass graft following the mid-October implantation of the graft during a triple bypass procedure on a 76-year-old woman at the Institute for Cardiology (Porto Alegre, Brazil).(Product Pipeline)
December 1, 2003... * CardioTech International (Woburn, Massachusetts) said it entered Phase II trials for its CardioPass coronary artery bypass graft following the mid-October implantation of the graft during a triple bypass procedure on a 76-year-old woman at...

EP MedSystems (West Berlin, New Jersey) said its Alert Companion II has been successfully used in its first routine internal cardioversion case in the U.S.(Product Pipeline)
December 1, 2003... * EP MedSystems (West Berlin, New Jersey) said its Alert Companion II has been successfully used in its first routine internal cardioversion case in the U.S. Dr. James Higgins, a cardiologist practicing at Saint Francis Hospital (Tulsa,...

Guidant (Indianapolis, Indiana) reported FDA approval of the Endotak Reliance G family of defibrillation leads.(Product Pipeline)
December 1, 2003... * Guidant (Indianapolis, Indiana) reported FDA approval of the Endotak Reliance G family of defibrillation leads. The product line features a proprietary covering to prevent tissue in-growth into the defibrillation coils without compromising...

Medtronic.(Product Pipeline)
December 1, 2003... * Medtronic (Minneapolis, Minnesota) reported the start of patient enrollment in its VALOR (Evaluation of the Safety and Efficacy of the Medtronic Vascular Talent Thoracic Stent Graft System for the Treatment of Thoracic Aortic Aneurysms)...

St. Jude Medical (St. Paul, Minnesota) reported the launch of the Angio-Seal Millennium Platform vascular closure device for sale in Japan.(Product Pipeline)
December 1, 2003... * St. Jude Medical (St. Paul, Minnesota) reported the launch of the Angio-Seal Millennium Platform vascular closure device for sale in Japan. Joseph McCullough, president of St. Jude Medical International, said, "The impressive clinical and...

Zoll Medical.(Product Pipeline)
December 1, 2003... * Zoll Medical (Chelmsford, Massachusetts) unveiled two new emergency medical services (EMS) products at MEDICA, in Dusseldorf, Germany, last month. The Bluetooth wireless option for the Zoll M Series defibrillators offers both real-time...