A SERVICE
OF 
VAD News: Mergers,
a Milestone, and a Clinical Trial
January 15, 2001· by TNN Medical Reporter Virginia
Baskerville
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Recent news about ventricular assist devices involved company
mergers, a new milestone, and approval for a clinical trial.
- Abiomed, Inc., of Danvers, Massachusetts, has made an offer to
acquire Thermo Cardiosystems of Woburn, Massachusetts. Both companies make
heart assist devices. As reported by Transplant News Network on
November 15, 2000, and January 1, 2001, ventricular assist device makers Thermo
Cardiosystems and Thoratec Laboratories Corporation, of Pleasanton, California,
began planning a merger in October. However, in a January 11 letter to Thermo
Cardiosystems, Abiomed wrote, "In our view, the value of combining Thoratec and
Thermo Cardiosystems remains significantly lower than the potential value of
combining Abiomed and Thermo Cardiosystems." Further details on the
transactions are posted at
www.abiomed.com/invest/press/010901.html,
www.abiomed.com/invest/press/011101.html,
www.abiomed.com/invest/press/011201.html, and
www.thermocardio.com/investors/investors.htm.
- MicroMed Technology, Inc., of Houston announced on January 9
that it had received approval from the Food and Drug Administration to expand
the U.S. MicroMed DeBakey ventricular assist device feasibility study from its
initial site at The Methodist Hospital in Houston to three sites and 20
patients. "It is expected that this expanded feasibility study will provide
MicroMed with enough information to begin an FDA-approved multicenter pivotal
study, eventually leading to FDA approval to market the device," MicroMed said
in a statement. See MicroMed's website at
www.micromedtech.com.
- World Heart Corporation of Ottawa announced on January 5 that it
achieved a significant milestone in the use of heart assist technology when one
of its Novacor left ventricular device recipients received a transplant in
December after four years of continuous support from the device. "This is the
longest time that any recipient has lived with continuous support from a heart
assist device," World Heart said. World Heart acquired Novacor from Edwards
Lifesciences in June 2000. More than 1200 patients have received the device
primarily as a short-term bridge to transplantation, World Heart said. See
www.worldheart.com/section3/sec3-1-63.html.
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