EXTON, Pa., Nov. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Kensey Nash Corporation today announced that it has exclusively licensed U.S. patent 6,175,669, Optical Coherence Domain Reflectometry Guidewire, from Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC to further expand the intellectual property portfolio related to its chronic total occlusion (CTO) platform. The patent covers a guidewire with enhanced optical sensing capabilities, allowing it to sense locations, thickness, and structure of the arterial walls as it navigates through the body. The concept and technology, which are complimentary to Kensey Nash’s Safe-Cross(R) RF CTO System, will allow the Company to develop next generation CTO devices with enhanced guidance and revascularization capabilities. The Safe-Cross System uses a forward-looking guidance system and radio frequency (RF) energy to safely cross and recanalize chronic total occlusions in the coronary and peripheral arteries. The terms of the license were not disclosed.
At the TransCatheter Therapeutics Conference (TCT) in Washington, D.C. last week, Dr. Charles Simonton, Carolinas Medical Center, performed a live case demonstrating the utility of the Safe-Cross System in crossing an in-stent restenosis CTO, greater than six months in age, in a patient’s left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery. The total crossing time was about fifteen minutes. Commenting on the Safe-Cross System and Kensey Nash’s development plans for its platform, Dr. Simonton said, “The Safe-Cross System is unique as the only device for CTO lesions that incorporates optical feedback to provide guidance and radio frequency energy to penetrate difficult coronary occlusions. I am very pleased that Kensey Nash will be refining this platform going forward to enhance our ability to safely and efficiently cross and stent these difficult lesions.”
Chronic Total Occlusions are described by thought leaders as the “last frontier” of interventional cardiology. It is estimated that 30-50% of people diagnosed with coronary artery disease have at least one CTO, yet they are rarely treated due to the difficult nature of the condition. By most definitions, CTOs are complete blockages of a vessel that have been present for at least one month and are extremely difficult to cross with conventional guidewire techniques. Often patients are not treated at all or are referred for bypass surgeries, yet if minimally invasive interventional treatment is possible, patient outcomes and one-year survival rates can be significantly improved.
“We are very pleased to add this patent to our CTO intellectual property portfolio,” commented Joseph W. Kaufmann, President and CEO of Kensey Nash Corporation. “By building upon the foundation of our current technology, we expect to broaden the Safe-Cross System’s capabilities as we develop additional tools to further improve clinical outcomes in both coronary and peripheral CTO procedures,” he concluded.
About Kensey Nash Corporation
Kensey Nash Corporation is a leading medical technology company providing innovative solutions and technologies for a wide range of medical procedures. The Company provides an extensive range of products into multiple medical markets, primarily in the endovascular, sports medicine and spine markets. Many of the products are based on the Company’s significant expertise in the design, development, manufacturing and processing of absorbable biomaterials, which has led to partnerships to commercialize technologies. Kensey Nash has also commercialized a series of innovative products through its own direct endovascular sales force. The Company is known as a pioneer in the field of arterial puncture closure, as the inventor and developer of the Angio-Seal(TM) Vascular Closure Device, which is licensed to St. Jude Medical, Inc.
Cautionary Note for Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that reflect the Company’s current expectations about its prospects and opportunities. The Company has tried to identify these forward looking statements by using words such as “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “plan,” “will,” “forecast,” “believe,” or similar expressions, but these words are not the exclusive means for identifying such statements. The Company cautions that a number of risks, uncertainties, and other important factors could cause the Company’s actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements including, without limitation, the Company’s success in launching its endovascular products into the marketplace, the Company’s dependence on three major customers (St. Jude Medical, Arthrex and Orthovita) and their success in selling Kensey Nash related products in the marketplace, the impact of product recalls and other manufacturing issues, and competition from other technologies, among other important risks. For a more detailed discussion of these and other factors, please see the Company’s SEC filings, including the disclosure under “Risk Factors” in those filings. Except as expressly required by the federal securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, changed circumstances or future events or for any other reason.
CONTACT: Joseph W. Kaufmann, President and Chief Executive Officer of
Kensey Nash Corporation, +1-484-713-2100
Web site: http://www.kenseynash.com/
