Thoratec Corporation, a world leader in mechanical circulatory support therapies to save, support and restore failing hearts, announced that its CE Mark Clinical Trial for HeartMate PHP (Percutaneous Heart Pump) has commenced.

"We are excited to begin the CE Mark Clinical Trial for HeartMate PHP and look forward to successful execution of this important clinical study," said Gary F. Burbach, president and chief executive officer.  "The HeartMate PHP addresses a significant clinical need for acute mechanical circulatory support and represents a new area of future growth for Thoratec," he added.

HeartMate PHP is a percutaneous device designed to deliver short-term support for patients needing acute cardiac assistance.  Through a proprietary expandable catheter technology, HeartMate PHP seeks to deliver improvements in device size, performance and clinical outcomes compared with currently available acute support technologies.

A portion of the initial cases in the HeartMate PHP CE Mark trial were performed by Juan F. Granada M.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine at Columbia University in New York and executive director and chief innovation officer at the CRF Skirball Center for Innovation.  Dr. Granada performed these cases at the Instituto del Corazón in Bucaramanga, Colombia and commented, "HeartMate PHP offers clinicians a new and effective alternative to address the need for short-term acute cardiac support," adding "the HeartMate PHP performance and ease of deployment are important advancements ideal for usage in this high-risk patient cohort that requires rapid and predictable hemodynamic stabilization."  Additional cases in the CE Mark trial were performed by Adrian Ebner M.D., Chief of the Cardiovascular Department at Sanatorio Italiano in Asuncion, Paraguay, where the first human cases using PHP were also successfully completed in 2013.

The HeartMate PHP CE Mark trial will enroll up to 50 patients at sites in Europe and South America.  The study will focus on use during high-risk percutaneous coronary interventions (high-risk PCI) and includes a primary endpoint of procedural success and avoidance of major adverse events for 30 days.  Dariusz Dudek M.D., Physician in Chief, Department of Cardiology and Cardiovascular Interventions at the University Hospital in Krakow, Poland, and principal investigator of the HeartMate PHP CE Mark Trial commented, "On behalf of all the investigators, I wish to congratulate the teams in South America on the initiation of the clinical study.  We look forward to treating patients in Europe with HeartMate PHP in the near future."

Thoratec is a world leader in therapies to address advanced-stage heart failure.  The company's products include the HeartMate II LVAS (Left Ventricular Assist Systems) and Thoratec VAD (Ventricular Assist Device) with more than 20,000 devices implanted in patients suffering from heart failure. Thoratec also manufactures the CentriMag and PediMag/PediVAS product lines. Thoratec is headquartered in Pleasanton, California.

Thoratec, the Thoratec logo, HeartMate II are registered trademarks of Thoratec Corporation and HeartMate PHP, is a trademark of Thoratec Corporation. CentriMag and PediMag are registered trademarks of Thoratec LLC, and PediVAS is a registered trademark of Thoratec Switzerland GmbH.