MINNEAPOLIS, June 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Atritech, Inc., a clinical stage medical device company, announced today that it has completed an acquisition of intellectual property from ev3 Endovascular Inc. that supports the Company’s WATCHMAN(R) left atrial appendage device.
In addition, Atritech recently enrolled the 500th patient into its PROTECT AF clinical trial.
Atritech’s WATCHMAN(R) device is designed to keep harmful sized blood clots from entering a patient’s blood stream, potentially causing a stroke. Patients with atrial fibrillation (a heart condition which causes the upper chambers of the heart to beat too rapidly) are at a greater risk of having a stroke. Typically these patients require blood thinning medications to prevent these clots from forming in the heart. Current blood thinning medications require frequent monitoring and have diet and other drug interactions causing many patients to stop taking these drugs. The WATCHMAN(R) device may be a viable alternative for patients with atrial fibrillation who may not want to take blood thinning medications for life.
The PROTECT AF clinical trial is evaluating the WATCHMAN(R) device versus the current standard of care, warfarin, in patients with atrial fibrillation. The trial is being conducted in sixty sites across the United States and Europe.
“This consolidation of intellectual property covering left atrial appendage closure devices is a significant achievement for us,” said Jim Bullock, President & CEO of Atritech. “With our 500th patient, we are well positioned to complete enrollment in mid-2008,” added Bullock.
About Atritech
Atritech is privately held and based in Plymouth, Minnesota. Major investors in Atritech include Split Rock Partners, Prism Ventures, The Vector Group, Tullis-Dickerson, Thoma Cressey Funds, The Rahn Group, SightLine Partners and Affinity Capital. For more information, visit http://www.atritech.net.
Atritech, Inc.
CONTACT: Maggie Wallner of Atritech, Inc., +1-763-746-5022,mwallner@atritech.net
Web site: http://www.atritech.net/
