announcment vcr, page-3

Ventracor Announces First Implant in Europe Sydney,
24 May 2005:

Ventracor Limited (ASX:VCR) today announced the first European implant of its leading heart assist system. Ventracor Chief Executive Officer, Colin Sutton PhD, said “Surgeons at Papworth Hospital in the United Kingdom performed the procedure at the weekend. “The first implant in Europe is significant step for the company as it clearly demonstrates the clinical excitement surrounding the potential of the VentrAssist™ left ventricular assist system (LVAS). Chief Medical Investigator at Papworth Dr Steven Tsui said "The operation went according to plan and our patient has been stable during the last 24 hours. “Technically, the VentrAssist is easier to implant than many earlier generations of ventricular assist devices. The small size of the pump means that the operation is less traumatic for the patient," Dr Tsui said. Dr Sutton said participation by Dr Stephen Tsui and his colleagues at Papworth added to the trial’s stature and would further accelerate patient enrolment in the CE Mark Trial. “Over the last couple of weeks, we have implanted seven patients culminating with our first implant outside Australia. “Ventracor has now implanted the VentrAssist in 23 patients including (nine as part of the pilot trial) and each implant adds to our clinical knowledge and enhances the robust and repeatable patient care protocols used by clinicians to obtain the best results for our patients,” Dr Sutton said. He added Ventracor would carefully expand the number of European hospitals participating in the trial to accelerate acquisition of clinical evidence to support a successful application for European regulatory approval. “Rikshospitalet in Oslo, Norway is ready to enroll its first patient and we recently met with several leading German heart transplant centres which have all expressed strong interest in participating in our trial program,” Dr Sutton said.

About Ventracor Ventracor (ASX:VCR) is an international medical technology company that has developed a life-saving heart pump, the VentrAssist™ left ventricular assist system (LVAS) for patients in cardiac failure. The company is expects to bring the VentrAssist™ to global markets in record time.

Ventracor is confident of obtaining a significant share of the massive LVAS market, which independent analysts expect to be valued at between $US7.5 billion and $US12 billion per year. For further information, please contact: Andrew Geddes Manager, Investor Relations Ventracor Limited (02) 9406 3086 Ventracor Limited 126 Greville Street Chatswood NSW 2067 Australia
T +61 2 9406 3100 F +61 2 9406 3101 W www.ventracor.com
ABN 46 003 180 372