FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 1, 2005--Sutura, Inc. (“Sutura”) (OTCBB:SUTU), a California-based medical device company, announced today that it intends to spin-off one of its proprietary suturing device products into a new company. The new company will be dedicated to the development and commercialization of its separate line of HeartStitch(R) suturing devices. The still-to-be formed company, whose name will be announced later this month, will be a spin-off of Sutura, Inc. The details of the spin-off also will be announced later this month, but it is intended that the new Company be self-financed and that current shareholders of Sutura will receive shares in the spin-off company. The innovative HeartStitch suturing device is designed for use in the closing procedure during transcatheter management of common atrial septal defects (ASDs) and patent foramen ovale (PFO). Atrial septal defect is an abnormality of the upper chambers of the heart where the wall between the right and left atria does not close completely. These Septal defects, which are present at birth, are sometimes called a “hole” in the heart. A patent foramen ovale (PFO) is a defect in the septum (wall) between the two upper chambers of the heart. Specifically, the defect is an incomplete closure of the atrial septum that results in the creation of a flap or a valve-like opening in the atrial septal wall. A PFO is frequent in everyone before birth but seals shut in about 80% of people.
