Abiomed Impella Devices Support 37,673 Patients, Enough to Fill Historic Fenway Park


DANVERS, Mass., April 12, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Abiomed, Inc. (Nasdaq:ABMD), a leading provider of breakthrough heart support technologies, announced today that it has supported 37,673 patients in the U.S. with its Impella® line of heart pumps, enough individuals to fill every seat in Fenway Park.

The 37,673rd patient supported with the Impella device was treated at Montefiore Medical Center in New York. “The Impella device enables our hospital to offer percutaneous treatment options for high risk patients with heart failure who cannot undergo surgery,” said Robert T. Pyo, M.D., Associate Director, Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, who performed the procedure with the Impella heart pump.  “With this device, we are able to safely perform complex coronary interventions in very sick patients who cannot be managed effectively with medical therapy alone.”

“Abiomed has built the field of heart recovery. Our culture is dedicated to our customers and patients and our mission focuses on recovering hearts and saving lives. With our recent FDA approvals, Abiomed will be able to treat more patients and bring more jobs to Massachusetts,” said Michael R. Minogue, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Abiomed.

Abiomed, founded in 1981 in Danvers, Massachusetts, has approximately 800 employees worldwide, and produces Impella, a line of the world’s smallest heart pumps that can be placed minimally invasively in a hospital catheterization lab, avoiding the necessity of heart surgery.  The Impella heart pumps are in over 1,000 U.S. hospitals and are used in 98% of the top U.S. heart hospitals, and since 2008, there have been over 750 patients in Massachusetts that have been supported by the devices.  In Massachusetts, Abiomed has added over 200 employees and will add another 100+ jobs over the next 18 months as the Company significantly expands its manufacturing capacity and global training facility in Danvers.

The Impella 2.5™, Impella CP® and Impella 5.0™ are FDA-approved as a therapy to treat severe heart attack patients in cardiogenic shock with the unique ability to enable native heart recovery, allowing patients to return home with their own heart.  The Impella 2.5 is additionally approved to treat advanced heart failure patients undergoing elective percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) such as stenting or balloon angioplasty, to re-open blocked coronary arteries.  Abiomed’s right-side heart pump, the Impella RP®, is approved to treat patients experiencing right heart failure.

  • Dan Wolpert, 47, suffered cardiogenic shock following a severe heart attack in 2008 and received the Impella 2.5 heart pump at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, Mass. The Impella device stabilized and supported Dan through a procedure to place two stents, allowing his heart muscle to rest while performing the work for his heart. “The Impella heart pump allowed physicians to stabilize my heart and saved me from needing a heart transplant,” said Dan Wolpert.
     
  • Christine Alber, 27, was suffering from cardiogenic shock and was transferred to Tufts Medical Center in Boston, Mass., where she received support from the Impella 2.5 on the left side of heart and the Impella RP on the right side of her heart, without ever undergoing heart surgery. “As a young female with no prior history of heart complications, my event was sudden and severely life threatening. Fortunately, physicians were able to support the left and right side of my heart with the help of Impella CP and Impella RP, allowing my heart the chance to rest and recover. Since then I, like many other patients treated with Impella, have returned to a normal and active lifestyle,” said Christine Alber.  
     
  • Howard Gaynor, 71, was at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Conn. for a routine procedure when his heart rate spiked and his cardiac condition began rapidly deteriorating. His right coronary artery was blocked 100%. The Impella RP right side device was inserted and restored blood flow to the rest of his organs.  Despite the intense stress on both sides of his heart, Howard's left and right ventricles are both functioning normally today. “The Impella RP supported the right side of my heart when it was too weak to function on its own. This device gave my heart the time it needed to recover and, ultimately gave me a second chance at life,” said Howard Gaynor.

Clinical data recently supported by the FDA demonstrates that early stabilization with the Impella heart pumps in the setting of severe heart attacks with cardiogenic shock, improve survival in these patients. Additionally, in the setting of advanced heart failure, a Protected PCI™ procedure with Impella has the ability to improve the quality of life in patients who often have no other options to improve their heart function. 

ABOUT ABIOMED
Based in Danvers, Massachusetts, Abiomed, Inc., is a leading provider of medical devices that provide circulatory support. Our products are designed to enable the heart to rest by improving blood flow and/or performing the pumping of the heart. For additional information please visit: www.abiomed.com.

Abiomed is a corporate sponsor of the MedTech and BioTech Veteran Program (MVP), a non-profit organization committed to networking industry, mentors and veterans for meaningful employment in the life sciences.  For more information on the program, please visit: www.mvpvets.org.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding development of Abiomed's existing and new products, the Company's progress toward commercial growth, and future opportunities and expected regulatory approvals. The Company's actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements based upon a number of factors, including uncertainties associated with development, testing and related regulatory approvals, including the potential for future losses, complex manufacturing, high quality requirements, dependence on limited sources of supply, competition, technological change, government regulation, litigation matters, future capital needs and uncertainty of additional financing, and other risks and challenges detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date of this release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.


            

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