First ICD Implantation Performed on Patient in BIOTRONIK’s ESCAPE-ICD Registry in Latin America

BERLIN--(Marketwire - May 11, 2012) -

BIOTRONIK, a leading manufacturer of innovative medical technology, announced today that the first ICD implantation has been performed on a patient enrolled in the BIOTRONIK ESCAPE-ICD Registry in Latin America.

ESCAPE-ICD is a large-scale observational study sponsored by BIOTRONIK and designed to tackle the alarming lack of data on sudden cardiac death in Latin America.

“The aim of the ESCAPE-ICD registry is to evaluate the size of the Latin American population at risk of sudden cardiac death and to collect clinical evidence so that we can provide primary prevention information to physicians,” said Dr. William Uribe, Principal Investigator of the Study.

Despite sudden cardiac death being a major cause of death world-wide(1), there is little epidemiological data about its prevalence in the countries involved in the registry: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Mexico and Venezuela.

The massive scale and scope of this undertaking has been defined in line with BIOTRONIK’s ambition to lead the industry in clinical excellence by providing answers in the most important areas of cardiovascular research and thereby optimizing therapies for cardiovascular patients.

“We are delighted to be taking part in the ESCAPE-ICD registry and to have performed the first ICD implantation on a patient who was at risk of sudden cardiac death. This registry has been long-awaited and we anticipate that we will be able to gather more data to help us address and prevent the problem of sudden death in our patients,” said Dr. Luis E. Aguinaga, Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiologist at Private Center of Cardiology (Centro Privado de Cardiología) in Tucumán, Argentina.

The study consists of two stages: the first will include 12,500 patients in order to evaluate the prevalence of patients at risk and the second stage will be used to compare patients who are only taking medical treatment with patients who have had an ICD implanted.

Dr. Sergio J. Dubner, Principal Investigator of the Study, commented, “Primary prevention of sudden cardiac death is a subject that is long overdue to come to the forefront in Latin America. It’s a great scientific challenge to identify patients at high risk of sudden cardiac death and analyze their incidence, their geographical distribution, and existing differences with other areas in the world. BIOTRONIK’s ESCAPE ICD registry will help provide physicians in Latin America the necessary data to identify patients and provide the best possible treatment.”

ESCAPE-ICD Steering Committee

• Principal Investigators: Dr. Sergio J. Dubner, MD, FACC, Clínica y Maternidad Suizo Argentina and De Los Arcos Sanatorio, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Dr. William Uribe, MD, CES Cardiología, Medellin, Colombia
• Clinical Advisor: Dr. Francisco J. Alzueta Rodriguez, Hospital Clínico Universitario Virgen de la Victoria, Málaga, Spain
• Statistics: Dr. Javier Zamora, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

Reference
(1) World Health Organization fact sheet No 317, www.who.int

About BIOTRONIK SE & Co. KG
As one of the world’s leading cardiovascular medical device companies, with several million implanted devices, BIOTRONIK is represented in over 100 countries with its global workforce of more than 5,600 employees. Known for having its fingers on the pulse of the medical community, BIOTRONIK assesses the challenges physicians face and provides the best solutions for all phases of patient care, ranging from diagnosis and treatment to patient management. Quality, innovation and clinical excellence define BIOTRONIK and its growing success -- and deliver confidence and peace of mind to physicians and their patients worldwide.

More information: www.biotronik.com