LuMend's New Frontrunner Micro Guide Catheter Provides Added Support, Enhanced Deliverability...

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 30, 2003

MGC and X39 Catheters Work as System in Coronary and

Peripheral Arteries

LuMend Corporation, the leader in developing technology for crossing chronic total occlusions

(CTOs), today announced that it has launched the Frontrunner(R) Micro Guide Catheter (MGC). The MGC is used in conjunction with the recently launched .039" Frontrunner X39 CTO Catheter. Both devices are FDA-cleared to treat CTOs (complete blockages) in the coronary and peripheral arteries. The system combines the controlled blunt micro-dissection of the X39 with the added support, enhanced deliverability and access provided by the MGC.

The cornerstone of the Frontrunner X39 technology is controlled, blunt micro-dissection, which gently separates atherosclerotic plaque (hard, rock-like material), creating a passage through the CTO. The MGC provides additional support for the X39 during crossing, as well as easily directs the Frontrunner to the CTO and away from side branches. It can be delivered via a .014" wire or with the Frontrunner X39 inserted.

After a passage is created and the Frontrunner X39 is removed, the MGC acts as a conduit by staying in place in the artery. This enables rapid guide wire exchange and provides physicians with the opportunity to treat patients using less-invasive coronary procedures such as balloon angioplasty and drug-eluting stents. The technique is similar to the instrument exchanges currently used during percutaneous intervention.

"The recent introduction of the Frontrunner Micro Guide Catheter continues to position LuMend as the leader in developing technology that allows physicians to safely and efficiently cross chronic total occlusions in both the coronary and peripheral vasculature," explained Tim Kahlenberg, President and CEO of LuMend. "Along with the new Frontrunner X39, the Micro Guide Catheter provides physicians with a very effective and familiar system for crossing CTOs."

CTOs represent a significant clinical challenge. Because CTOs are composed of tough and fibrous atherosclerotic plaque, it is very difficult for physicians to generate sufficient force to pass through the CTO using a conventional guide wire. Without a guide wire placed across the blockage, less-invasive coronary procedures are not possible. As a result, many CTO patients must be referred to bypass surgery for treatment. It is estimated that CTOs are present in approximately one third of all diagnostic angiograms completed on patients with coronary artery disease. Studies show a distinct ten-year patient survival advantage for a successfully revascularized coronary CTO compared to a failed revascularization.

"Treating a chronic total occlusion is technically challenging for an interventionalist. Anytime there is an instrument that simplifies the procedure and increases technical success, both the patient and the interventionalist benefit," stated Steven R. Bailey, M.D., Director of Interventional Cardiology at The University of Texas, San Antonio. "The addition of the Micro Guide Catheter to the Frontrunner X39 has created a system that is easier to use and facilitates the treatment of patients with chronic total occlusions."

About LuMend

John Simpson, M.D., Ph.D., and Matt Selmon, M.D., co-founded LuMend in 1996. Dr. Simpson is an internationally recognized pioneer of interventional cardiology. In addition to inventing many widely used technologies, he has founded numerous cardiology-related companies. He serves as Professor of Clinical Medicine at Stanford University and is a Staff Cardiologist at Sequoia Hospital in Redwood City, Calif. Dr. Selmon is a practicing interventional cardiologist and recognized world leader in the treatment of chronic total occlusions. He has focused on research in percutaneous intervention for more than 19 years and has helped in the development of several pioneering technologies for interventional cardiology. Dr. Selmon has been in practice since 1984 as a partner with Dr. Simpson and currently is a Staff Cardiologist at Sequoia and Stanford Hospitals.

LuMend, Inc. is located in Redwood City, Calif. For more information, visit the company's website at www.lumend.com or email at info@lumend.com.