Healthcare Industry News: Microvolt T-Wave Alternans
News Release - December 18, 2006
Cambridge Heart Announces Management Changes
BEDFORD, Mass.--(HSMN NewsFeed)--Cambridge Heart, Inc. (OTCBB-CAMH) today announced that as of December 15, 2006 the Board of Directors accepted the resignation of Jeffery J. Langan as President, Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of the Company. The Board of Directors has appointed Robert Khederian, the Company's Chairman of the Board, to serve as Interim President and Chief Executive Officer. In addition, Ali Haghighi-Mood, PhD has been promoted to serve as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, and Laurence Blumberg, MD, a member of the Board of Directors, has been appointed to serve as Vice President of Business Development.Mr. Khederian is a significant shareholder and has served as a director of the Company since 2002. He also has substantial experience in the healthcare industry, both as an investor and entrepreneur. Mr. Khederian said, "The Company has made substantial progress in the reimbursement and clinical areas and is in the early stages of commercial adoption. I am excited to have the opportunity to continue to lead the Company in a more substantial role as CEO and to help realize the value of the Company's Microvolt T-Wave Alternans technology."
"The Board of Directors would like to thank Jeff for his leadership and dedication during his years of service to the Company and wish him and his family well," said Mr. Khederian.
Dr. Haghighi-Mood joined Cambridge Heart in 1997 and has served in a variety of roles, including Director of Research and, most recently, as the Company's Vice President of Operations, Research and Development.
Commenting on the appointment, Mr. Khederian said "Dr. Haghighi-Mood has proven himself to be an outstanding leader in the Company who has earned the respect and admiration of the Company's employees, customers and advisors. He has the skills and commitment to take the Company to the next level."
Dr. Haghighi-Mood has a deep knowledge of the Company's operations and technology, gained from his long tenure of service with Cambridge Heart. Dr. Haghighi-Mood is responsible for the development of much of the Company's patented Microvolt T-Wave Alternans technology as well as the development of the Company's current primary product - the Heartwave II System. He also has been responsible for overseeing the Company's regulatory affairs and its manufacturing and service operations in recent years.
Dr. Blumberg, a business founder of the Company and also a significant shareholder, recently joined the Board of Directors in October 2006. "The more I see of the clinical impact that the Company's technology can have on the management of patients at risk for sudden cardiac death by facilitating the appropriate and broader use of life saving implantable defibrillators, the more I recognize the future potential of the Company," said Dr. Blumberg.
Dr. Richard Cohen, the Company's scientific founder commented "I have worked with Dr. Blumberg since the founding of Cambridge Heart, and he has a deep understanding of the clinical, commercial, and strategic dynamics of our business. He also has valuable relationships and device industry knowledge which he will utilize to assist the Company in its future growth. I am pleased to have Dr. Blumberg working with the Company in this new role."
About Cambridge Heart
Cambridge Heart (www.cambridgeheart.com) is engaged in the development and commercialization of products for the non-invasive diagnosis of cardiac disease, particularly the identification of those at risk of sudden cardiac arrest. The Company's products incorporate its proprietary Microvolt T-Wave Alternans measurement technologies, coupled with its patented Spectral Analytic Method and ultra-sensitive disposable electrode sensors. Only Spectral Analytic Method MTWA tests are reimbursed by Medicare under its National Coverage Policy that covers patients with a wide variety of cardiac symptoms. Other major insurers in the USA also have coverage policies for the test. The T-Wave Alternans test is included in the Guideline for Management of Patients with Ventricular Arrhythmias and the Prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death jointly developed by the American College of Cardiology (ACC), The American Heart Association (AHA) and the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). The Company, founded in 1990, is based in Bedford, Massachusetts and is traded on the OTCBB under the symbol CAMH.
About the Cambridge Heart Microvolt T-Wave Alternans Test
The Cambridge Heart Microvolt T-Wave Alternans Test measures a specific extremely subtle pattern of beat-to-beat fluctuations in a person's electrocardiogram. This pattern of fluctuations is called T-wave alternans. These tiny variations in the electrocardiogram - measured at one millionth of a volt accuracy - are most commonly measured during a sub-maximal exercise stress test in the doctor's office or hospital outpatient setting. The preparation for the test consists of placing proprietary sensors on the patient's chest. Extensive clinical research has shown that those patients with symptoms of, or who are at risk of, life threatening arrhythmias who test positive for T-wave alternans are at significant risk for subsequent sudden cardiac events including sudden death, while those who test negative are at minimal risk.
Statements contained in this press release about anticipated revenue growth, and all other statements that are not purely historical, are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases, we use words such as "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "plans", "estimates", "could" and similar expressions that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause or contribute to such differences include customer delays in making final buying decisions, decreased demand for our products, failure to obtain funding necessary to develop or enhance our technology, adverse results in future clinical studies of our technology, failure to obtain or maintain patent protection for our technology, failure to obtain or maintain adequate levels of third-party reimbursement for use of our products and other factors identified in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K under "Factors Which May Affect Future Results", which is on file with the SEC. In addition, any forward-looking statements represent our estimates only as of today and should not be relied upon as representing our estimates as of any subsequent date. While we may elect to update forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we specifically disclaim any obligation to do so, even if our estimates change.
Source: Cambridge Heart
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