Healthcare Industry News: Edwards Lifesciences
News Release - April 3, 2008
Edwards Lifesciences Celebrates 50 Years of Life-Saving Innovations
Chairman and CEO Honors the Anniversary by Ringing The Closing Bell(R) at the NYSE on April 4IRVINE, Calif., April 3, 2008 (HSMN NewsFeed) -- Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE: EW ), a world leader in products and technologies to treat advanced cardiovascular disease, today announced its 50th anniversary of partnering with clinicians to develop life-saving innovations. To celebrate its five decades of innovation and success, and eight years as an independent company, Michael A. Mussallem, Edwards' chairman and CEO, will visit the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) tomorrow afternoon to ring The Closing Bell®, signaling the end of the trading week. A live webcast of The Closing Bell® will be available at http://www.nyse.com beginning at 3:55 p.m. EDT on April 4, 2008.
Edwards' 50-year history dates back to 1958, with the development of the first commercially available artificial heart valve by Miles "Lowell" Edwards and Dr. Albert Starr. The company built on this legacy by innovating a number of other pioneering products including the first -- and only -- biomechanically engineered tissue heart valve; the first heart valve repair ring; the first embolectomy catheter to remove obstructions in blood vessels; the first pulmonary artery catheter, which established the foundation for hemodynamic monitoring; and more recently, the first "beating heart" transcatheter aortic valve replacement.
"We take great pride in our 50-year heritage of working as trusted partners with clinicians to develop innovative technologies that transform patient care," said Mussallem. "We believe Lowell Edwards would be very proud of the company that bears his name today and the more than 5,600 employees worldwide who carry on his mission to provide treatments and hope for patients with advanced cardiovascular disease."
"It brings me tremendous joy that the replacement heart valves Lowell Edwards and I co-developed 50 years ago began a company that today continues to pioneer live-saving cardiovascular devices and procedures," said Dr. Albert Starr, medical director of the Providence Heart and Vascular Institute and co-recipient of a 2007 Lasker Award for the development of artificial heart valves. "I'm proud of my enduring association with Edwards Lifesciences and look forward to the company's continued success helping millions of patients worldwide."
In 1958, Lowell Edwards was a 60-year-old recently retired engineer with 63 patents in an array of industries, an entrepreneurial spirit and dreams of helping patients with heart disease. With a background in hydraulics and fuel pump operations, he believed the human heart could be mechanized. He presented the concept to Dr. Starr, a young surgeon at the University of Oregon Medical School, who encouraged Lowell Edwards to focus first on developing an artificial heart valve, for which there was an immediate need. After only two years, the first Starr-Edwards mitral valve was designed, developed, tested and successfully placed in a patient.
About Edwards Lifesciences
Edwards Lifesciences is the global leader in the science of heart valves and hemodynamic monitoring. Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., Edwards treats advanced cardiovascular disease with its market-leading heart valve therapies, and critical care and vascular technologies. In 2008, Edwards celebrates 50 years of partnering with clinicians to develop life-saving innovations. The company's global brands, which are sold in approximately 100 countries, include CardioVations, Carpentier-Edwards, Cosgrove-Edwards, FloTrac, Fogarty, PERIMOUNT Magna and Swan-Ganz. Additional company information can be found at http://www.edwards.com.
Edwards is a trademark of Edwards Lifesciences Corporation. Edwards Lifesciences, the stylized E logo, CardioVations, Carpentier-Edwards, Cosgrove-Edwards, FloTrac, Fogarty, PERIMOUNT Magna and Swan-Ganz are trademarks of Edwards Lifesciences Corporation and are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The Closing Bell is a registered trademark of the New York Stock Exchange, Inc.
Source: Edwards Lifesciences
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