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.