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Mitralign Announces an Additional Medical Director in Advance of Clinical Pilot Study

Posted on: Tuesday, 10 April 2007, 09:00 CDT

Mitralign Inc. today announced the appointment of Dr. Paul S. Teirstein to the position of co-Medical Director. As co-Medical Director, Dr. Teirstein will be responsible for guiding Mitralign through the Mitralign Percutaneous Suture Annuloplasty clinical pilot study. In this role, he will join current Medical Director, Dr. Paul A. Spence, who is a cardiac surgeon and a founder of Mitralign.

Dr. Teirstein is a board certified interventional cardiologist at both Columbia University Medical Center and Scripps Clinic located in San Diego, CA, where he currently serves as Chief of Cardiology and Director of Interventional Cardiology. After Dr. Teirstein completed his fellowship at Stanford University, he spent a year as a fellow in interventional cardiology at both the Mid-America Heart Institute and the National Institutes of Health. In addition to his new responsibility at Mitralign, he is a medical board member at Accelerated Technologies, Inc.

John MacMahon, President & Chief Executive Officer stated, "Dr. Teirstein's expertise deeply strengthens our team, as we prepare to initiate our pilot study." Dr. Teirstein commented, "The ability to provide these patients a percutaneous treatment option is fantastic and I look forward to providing insight to Mitralign, as we take this new technique to the clinic."

Mitralign's pilot study will enroll patients in both Siegburg, Germany and Vancouver, B.C. The co-investigators for the Mitralign pilot study, Prof. Dr. med. Eberhard Grube and Dr. John G. Webb are the two most experienced interventionalists in the world for percutaneous valve therapies. The pilot study expects to enroll up to 10 patients for percutaneous direct repair of the mitral valve. Enrollment of the first patient is expected in the second quarter of 2007.

The condition treated, mitral valve regurgitation (MR), is common in patients with Congestive Heart Failure. Clinical studies have proven that MR significantly increases the risk of mortality in patients afflicted with CHF, a disease affecting 25 Million worldwide. Studies hence recommend earlier treatment of MR in these patients.

Combining surgical precision with interventional therapy, Mitralign is developing an innovative, catheter-based method to effectively treat mitral regurgitation in patients suffering from Congestive Heart Failure. Mitralign's goal is to emulate the technique employed in traditional open heart surgical repair but in a far less invasive manner.

Source: Business Wire

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