Ventracor in arrestAri SharpFebruary 9, 2009 TROUBLED medical...

Ventracor in arrestAri Sharp
February 9, 2009

TROUBLED medical device-maker Ventracor will early this week reveal information on its heart pump product that may change the landscape for potential buyers.

The Sydney-based company last week put its shares into a trading halt that will run until tomorrow, saying that it "intends to announce material information concerning its product" — a left ventricular assist device, which aids patients with heart problems. Shares in Ventracor were trading at 8.3¢ when they went into the halt.

After falling short of a fund-raising target last year, Ventracor began courting potential buyers. Several have conducted due diligence, including US-based Abiomed, as revealed in BusinessDay.

For the first half of the 2009 financial year, the company notched up $12.8 million in sales for its key device, which is now used by 412 people. Last month the company revealed the device had achieved a 78.6 per cent success rate as a bridge to transplant in a United States trial, exceeding the specified performance goal.


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