Well, maybe sooner than we think, gg However this Co. just keeps rolling out the new products:
(Also found this from a link at their website: 1999 earnings estimate is $1.77 per share, I thought it was $1.50. :o) BTW, next earnings release is scheduled for 8-19-98. )
ALSO:
Medtronic Announces Agreement With VenPro to
Distribute New Heart-Repair Product for
Children Outside U.S.
PR Newswire - June 23, 1998 09:31
MDT %MTC %PDT V%PRN P%PRN
MINNEAPOLIS, June 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT),
announced today that the company has signed an agreement with the VenPro
Corporation to distribute outside the United States a new pulmonary valved conduit
made of a bovine jugular vein.
The pulmonary valved conduit, a glutaraldehyde-fixed investigational device
developed by VenPro, would be the first product in Medtronic's heart valve portfolio
intended for use primarily in children. It is designed to satisfy the need for a more
readily available conduit to correct congenital defects of the heart's right ventricular
outflow tract and provide right ventricle to pulmonary artery access. Homografts,
currently considered the device of choice for this type of reconstruction, are limited
by the availability of donated human organs, particularly in small sizes.
VenPro, of Irvine, Calif., is an early-stage development company with products and
technology targeted at cardiac and vascular surgery markets. Medtronic has made an
equity investment in VenPro.
The new bovine jugular vein conduit combines many features of a homograft with the
convenience of a readily available, off-the-shelf product in a range of small sizes
suitable for pediatric use. Pulmonary valved conduits composed of bovine jugular
veins have thinner, more supple leaflets than traditional porcine tissue valves and are
designed to allow improved blood flow.
The first patient to receive the new conduit, a two-year-old boy, was enrolled in the
Phase I clinical trial on June 4, 1998, by Dr. Carlo Marcelletti, a professor of
medicine at Hesperia Hospital in Modena, Italy. There were no intra-operative
complications and the recovery was uneventful. Since that date, Dr. Marcelletti has
successfully completed three similar procedures, without complications.
Commenting on his initial experience, Dr. Marcelletti said, "It is very convenient to
have the required size available from inventory. Also, the implant is technically
straightforward and no bleeding was observed from either anastomosis."
The addition of a product specifically designed for repair of heart defects in children
further advances Medtronic's leadership in tissue valve technology. Medtronic is
unsurpassed in the breadth of its solutions for the treatment of heart valve disease and
is committed to offering the most technologically advanced products. Within the last
two years, Medtronic has introduced two advanced tissue valve designs for adults --
the Medtronic Freestyle(R) valve, a new stentless design commercially released
worldwide, and the stented Medtronic Mosaic(R) valve released outside the United
States. Both offer state-of-the-art technology in anti-mineralization treatment and
tissue valve fixation. In the United States, Medtronic also offers the Medtronic
Hall(TM) mechanical heart valve and the Hancock tissue valves for heart valve
replacement, as well as the Sculptor(R) and Duran annuloplasty rings for valve repair.
Medtronic, Inc., headquartered in Minneapolis, is the world's leading medical
technology company specializing in implantable and interventional therapies. Its
Internet address is medtronic.com SOURCE Medtronic, Inc.
/CONTACT: Rob Michiels of VenPro Corp., 714-788-0505, or Chris O'Connell,
Investor Relations, 612-514-4971 or Dick Reid, Public Relations, 612-514-3052,
both of Medtronic/
/Company News On-Call: prnewswire.com or fax, 800-758-5804,
ext. 551393/ |
