3F to start US heart valve trial:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Privately held medical device company 3F Therapeutics has gained the green light to start the US arm of a clinical trial to assess its heart valve. The aortic bioprosthesis has already been implanted in the first five patients in the European portion of the trial. "Approximately 260,000 prosthetic heart valves are implanted worldwide every year, a market currently served by much bigger companies including Medtronic, St Jude Medical, Edwards Lifesciences, Sulzer Carbomedics, and ATS Medical," says Walter Cuevas, president and CEO of Orange County, california-based 3F.