May 21, 2007 — Sanofi-aventis has announced that the FDA has approved a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for the anticoagulant Lovenox (enoxaparin sodium injection) for the treatment of patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Lovenox has been shown to reduce the rate of the combined endpoint of recurrent myocardial infarction or death in patients with acute STEMI receiving thrombolysis and being managed medically or with Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI).

May 18, 2007 — According to a report published Thursday in the Wall Street Journal and posted on UPI, the number of coronary stents implanted in patients at U.S. hospitals dropped more than 15 percent in April compared with the number of such procedures performed in April 2006. Stenting procedures at 140 hospitals totaled about 71,200, according to a poll done by the Toronto-based Millennium Research Group, the newspaper reported.

The steep decline in stent use may have been prompted by data from the COURAGE study presented at ACC in March.

May 18, 2007 — Hansen Medical Inc. said Thursday it obtained approval in the European Union for its Sensei robotic catheter system and Artisan catheter, which allows the company to begin marketing the system in the EU.

Mountain View, CA,-based Hansen is a developer of robotic technology for control of catheter movement during cardiac procedures.

May 18, 2007 — Inverness Medical Innovations Inc. and Biosite Inc. have announced the companies have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Inverness will acquire all of Biosite’s outstanding common stock not already owned by Inverness in a cash tender offer for $92.50 per share.

May 18, 2007 — Medicure, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the research, development and commercialization of novel compounds to treat cardiovascular disorders, is developing MC-1 for the treatment of acute ischemia and ischemic reperfusion injury, and has received a Fast Track Designation from the FDA for the drug.

Currently, MC-1 has completed two positive Phase 2 studies, one in angioplasty patients and most recently a 901-patient coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) study, called MEND-CABG.

May 18, 2007 — CoreValve has announced that it has received CE Mark approval of its CoreValve Percutaneous ReValving System for treatment of high-risk patients.

May 18, 2007 — Picture paramedics mobilizing a team of cardiologists and nurses within minutes of arriving at the home of a person who is having a heart attack, simply by pressing a button that sends an electrocardiogram (ECG) over a wireless network. That’s exactly what’s being done at a Newark, NJ, medical center, and it’s dramatically improving the quality of care, according to a study honored as the best abstract presented at the 30th Annual Scientific Sessions of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI), May 9–12, 2007.

May 16, 2007 — Boston Scientific Corp. has announced that it has completed enrollment in the European and Intercontinental phases (II and III) of its TAXUS OLYMPIA registry, bringing the total number of current patients to more than 23,000.

The registry is designed to evaluate the safety and performance of the Company's second-generation drug-eluting coronary stent (DES), TAXUS Liberte, in a real-world setting. OLYMPIA is the world's largest DES registry and plans to enroll at least 27,000 patients treated for complex coronary lesions at more than 400 centers worldwide.

May 16, 2007 — Extremely anxious patients with heart disease have been found to be at double the risk of heart attack or death when compared to those with a more relaxed life attitude, reports ANI.

May 16, 2007 — Monebo Technologies Inc. has announced that the CardioBelt Electrode System is now available, following clearance by the FDA.

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