Miracor UK Ltd to open Sales and Education Center in Manchester Science Parks

VIENNA, Austria--Miracor Medical Systems announced today that it will further increase its activities in the UK, led by its newly founded sales subsidiary in Manchester. To date, several leading centers in the UK are already actively using the PICSO Impulse System to treat patients with myocardial infarction (MI).

“We are very pleased to see how quickly our therapy for acute MI patients has been integrated into the clinical setting,” says Ludwig Gold, CEO of Miracor Medical Systems; “With our newly founded subsidiary, we will be able to directly serve our UK customer base and enlarge our activities in this key market”.

Miracor is currently conducting two clinical studies in the UK, further evaluating the effectiveness of PICSO Therapy in myocardial infarction patients, used in daily clinical practice during standard Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI). Recently presented data show that PICSO, as an adjuvant treatment to primary PCI, may significantly reduce infarct size in patients presenting with acute ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI).

The ‘PICSO in STEMI’ study is currently conducted at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle upon Tyne (Prof. Dr. Azfar Zaman, Dr. Mohaned Egred), the Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital (Dr. Nick Palmer), and Northern General Hospital, Sheffield (Dr. Ever Grech).

“The study is designed to explore the improvement of microvascular perfusion and cardiac function in acute myocardial infarction patients which remains a large unmet need,” said Prof. Zaman, Chief Investigator of the study; “PICSO can be applied during PCI even in the acute setting and therefore has the potential to change the way we currently treat such patients and thereby improve outcomes in this huge patient population,” he continued.

The ‘PICSO in NSTEMI’ study is a Physician Initiated Study by Dr. Piers Clifford at the Wycombe Hospital in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. It evaluates the effectiveness of PICSO in patients with less severe, Non-ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction (NSTEMI).

“Microvascular obstruction (MVO), which is very common in STEMI patients can also be observed in the NSTEMI patient population. PICSO has shown to reduce MVO in STEMI patients and we therefore are convinced that PICSO may also represent a useful intervention in this even larger patient population, with the potential to improve patient prognosis and reduce healthcare expenditure,” Dr. Clifford explained.

Further centers are currently in the training phase for both studies.

About Miracor Medical Systems GmbH

Miracor Medical Systems GmbH is an Austrian medical device company dedicated to improve clinical outcome of patients with impaired cardiac function. So far, Miracor has raised over EUR 24 million in venture capital and public funding. Major investors include Earlybird Venture Capital, Delta Partners, SHS, BioMedInvest, and aws Founders Fund.

The Miracor PICSO® (Pressure-controlled Intermittent Coronary Sinus Occlusion) Impulse System is designed to treat acute ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction (‘STEMI’) patients and less severe Non-ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction (‘NSTEMI’) patients by improving myocardial perfusion in complement with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). PICSO is applied during PCI and designed to intermittently block the coronary sinus, a large vessel that collects blood from the heart muscle (myocardium), thereby increasing perfusion of the myocardium and reducing injury resulting from myocardial infarction.

NOTE: The CE marked PICSO® Impulse System is approved for sale in Europe. It is currently not approved for use in the United States.