




Healthcare Industry News: W.L. Gore
News Release - January 18, 2007
CoreValve Announces the Appointment of Dolf Meewis as Vice President of International Sales
Mr. Meewis' more than two decades of experience working in the medical specialty device and healthcare industries in Europe will play a key role in establishing CoreValve's ReValving(TM) System for percutaneous aortic valve replacement (PAVR) as a successful alternative to open-chest surgeryIRVINE, Calif.--(HSMN NewsFeed)--CoreValve (www.corevalve.com) announced today that Dolf Meewis has joined the Company as Vice President of International Sales, effective immediately. He will be headquartered in the Netherlands.
The addition of Mr. Meewis to CoreValve's management team solidifies the Company's preparations for European commercial release of its patented ReValving System, which consists of a breakthrough 18-French-sized delivery catheter that is used to percutaneously implant its proprietary porcine pericardial-tissue bioprosthesis over the diseased aortic heart valves of patients in a "cath" lab setting. Of note: the most recent ReValving cases in the ongoing clinical trial have been performed without the use of extracorporeal bypass, other cardiac assistance or even rapid pacing. These truly percutaneous procedures took routine interventional times to complete and, in spite of their high-risk status, patients were released from the ICU within hours of valve implantation and discharged from the hospital within days.
"Attaining the truly percutaneous replacement of a diseased aortic heart valve in a cath lab setting, in about 10 minutes excluding prep time, and without any support whatsoever to the beating heart, is why the ReValving procedure has extraordinary potential for non-surgically treating the thousands of patients who are too fragile to survive open-chest surgery," said Jacques Seguin, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman, CEO and Founder of CoreValve.
Added Rob Michiels, President and Chief Operating Officer: "We are very fortunate to have been able to attract an individual with such a strong background in global sales and marketing of breakthrough interventional cardiology devices. Dolf will play a critical role in establishing our commercial channels and will be instrumental in the design and execution of a strict 'center of excellence' release strategy upon receipt of the CE Mark later this year."
Mr. Meewis was a Founder and Principal of Medilogic, a medical specialty device technology incubator and consulting firm in the Netherlands. Originally trained as an operating room nurse, he has held sales and marketing positions with increasing responsibilities at InterVentional Technologies, Johnson & Johnson, W.L. Gore & Associates and U.S. Surgical.
About CoreValve
Founded in 2001, privately held CoreValve--which is headquartered in Irvine, California--has developed a proprietary delivery system and tissue heart valve for percutaneous heart valve replacement. Based on a novel catheter-and-self-expanding-frame approach on a beating heart, the proprietary CoreValve Percutaneous ReValving System(TM) procedure avoids open-heart surgery. It can be performed in a cardiac "cath lab" just like angioplasty and stenting, resulting in less trauma to the patient and substantial cost-savings to the healthcare system. For more information about CoreValve, visit the Company's Web site at www.corevalve.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains certain "forward-looking" statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These "forward-looking" statements, which may include, but are not limited to, statements concerning the projections, financial condition, results of operations and businesses of CoreValve, are based on management's current expectations and estimates and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences may include, but are not limited to, risks relating to the protection of intellectual property, changes to governmental regulation of medical devices, the FDA's approval of new products, the impact of competitive products, changes to the competitive environment, the acceptance of new products in the market, conditions of the interventional cardiology industry and the economy and other factors.
(Caution: the CoreValve ReValving(TM) System will not be available in the USA for clinical trials or for commercialization until further notice.)
Source: CoreValve
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