MINNEAPOLIS, Feb. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Atritech, Inc. announced the upcoming presentation of the PROTECT AF trial results comparing the WATCHMAN(R) Left Atrial Appendage (LAA) Closure Device to the current standard of care, warfarin therapy, in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation. The results will be unveiled at the Late Breaking Clinical Trial session during the I2 Summit Scientific Meeting at 8:30 am on March 28, 2009. The I2 Summit is part of the Annual Meeting of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) being held March 28 - 31 in Orlando, Florida.
“This is a very important clinical study comparing the WATCHMAN to warfarin in the management of patients with atrial fibrillation. We are looking forward to the presentation by Dr. David Holmes, the Principal Investigator of the PROTECT AF Trial, at the ACC,” remarked Jim Bullock, President and CEO. Hand-on demonstrations of the WATCHMAN technology will be available at the Atritech booth # 2857.
In August of 2008, Atritech announced the filing of its Pre-Market Approval Application (PMA) to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The PMA contained the results of the PROTECT AF Clinical Trial which began enrollment in early 2005. The WATCHMAN Device continues to be implanted in a limited number of sites while the product is under review at the FDA. To date over 70 devices have been implanted in the Continued Access Registry.
Atritech’s WATCHMAN LAA Closure Technology is intended as an alternative to warfarin therapy for patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation. Patients with atrial fibrillation (a heart condition which causes the upper chambers of the heart to beat too rapidly) are at a significantly greater risk of having a stroke due to embolization of clots that may form in the LAA. Typically these patients require blood thinning medications to prevent these clots from forming in the heart. Current medical therapy requires frequent monitoring and has diet and other drug interactions and increases the risk of bleeding. The WATCHMAN device may be an effective alternative to warfarin for these patients.
About Atritech
Atritech is privately held and based in Plymouth, Minnesota. Major investors in Atritech include SplitRock Partners, Prism Venture Partners, Tullis-Dickerson Partners, , The Vector Group, Thoma Cressey Funds, SightLine Funds and Affinity Capital. For more information, visit http://www.atritech.net.
CONTACT: Brenda Gutzke of Atritech, Inc., +1-763-746-5002,
bgutzke@atritech.net
Web site: http://www.atritech.net/
