
Abiomed (NSDQ:ABMD) said a Canadian doctor achieved the first successful human use of its Impella cVAD device, which it calls a "paradigm shift" for products designed to assist the hearts of patients too sick for surgery.
The Danvers, Mass.-based med-tech pioneer said the Impella cVAD went to an 85-year-old patient in Canada with complex coronary artery disease, compromised left heart function and prior heart attack, according to a press release. The device was explanted 25 hours later, according to the release.
Abiomed unveiled the Impella cVAD device, the latest in its star Impella line of devices, in December 2011 amid celebrations of the initial human use of its Symphony implantable heart pump from chronic heart failure patients. His surgeon, Dr. Giuseppe Martucci of McGill University Health Centre, said the pump gave his patient " a very high level of hemodynamic support" while he performed "extensive revascularization" for the patient’s triple-vessel coronary artery disease.
"The device’s excellent blood flow gave us great flexibility and support and will allow the MUHC now to treat coronary artery disease patients who previously had limited treatment options and were unable to undergo traditional open-heart surgery," Martucci said in prepared remarks.
Abiomed also has its sights set on entering the Japanese market in 2013, where the Impella has been listed as a "critical need" device by major cardiac societies. Because there is virtually no use of heart transplants or VAD devices in Japan, the Impella could have a leg up there, according to the firm.
It’ll have company in the cardiac assist device market soon, as Pleasanton, Calif.-based VAD leader Thoratec (NSDQ:THOR) prepares its version of a percutaneous heart pump to compete with Impella. Thoratec hopes to win Japanese regulatory approval for its workhorse HeartMate II ventricular assist device in mid-2012, CEO Gary Burbach said at the JP Morgan health care conference in San Francisco earlier this year.