Ventracor to beef up marketing and distribution

Ventracor (ASX:VCR) has wrapped up a "successful" pilot trial of its VentrAssist artificial heart device -- including one bridge-to-transplant patient who has now received a donor heart -- and is set to beef up its marketing and distribution capabilities, shareholders heard today at the company's AGM.

The company also announced today that it is to appoint Nucleus and ResMed alumnus Ross Harricks as a non-executive director. Harricks -- who will take the position in November -- is founder and CEO of Australian cardiovascular medical device company AtCor Medicalm, which distributes its SphygmoCor Px diagnostic technology in Europe. He was a director of ResMed for five years until 1995 and prior to that held positions at the Nucleus Group and EMI Medical.

"Ross understands the process that Ventracor is undertaking and his experience, particularly in the cardio vascular medical device area, will add value to both the board and the company generally," said chairman John Massey in an address to the AGM.

But Ventracor shareholders have been warned that legal disputes may also be on the horizon. At a recent Sydney conference organised by investment bank EG Capital, business development and clinical director Dr John Woodard said that Ventracor had budgeted $200,000 on patenting and patent lawsuits and was about to launch proceedings against a number of competitors.

Ventracor's European CE Mark trial is now underway, and the company reported that three implants have been conducted to date. It is expecting to make a formal CE Mark submission in 2005.

Ventracor also expects to submit an Investigational Device Exemption to the US Food and Drug Administration in 2004. It has commissioned the International Centre for Health Outcomes and Innovation Research of Columbia University in New York to design and conduct the US clinical trials.

Having upgraded its manufacturing facilities in Sydney's Chatswood, Ventracor is now capable of turning out 200 artificial heart devices per year, sufficient for its clinical trial program.

Ventracor has also entered into an agreement for the supply and implementation of a sophisticated carbon coating chamber to apply the diamond-like carbon coating on the blood-contacting surfaces of the device. "The diamond-coating has good biocompatibility," said Woodward at the conference. "We found that with the diamond-coating we have been able to run a number of patients without anti-coagulant drugs."