Diamond Bar, CA (May 5th, 2011) – Biosense Webster, Inc., the worldwide leader in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiac arrhythmias today announced the extension of their strategic collaboration with Stereotaxis, Inc.
Under the terms of the agreement, Biosense Webster gains non-exclusive worldwide distribution rights to Stereotaxis’ rapidly growing Odyssey™ portfolio of products and will sell these products in Electrophysiology labs around the world and leverage the market leading installed base of its cutting edge Carto® 3 3D Mapping System. The combined solutions from both companies will drive improved workflow and optimize the remote technical and clinical support of electrophysiology practices globally.
“This extension of our current strategic collaboration will undoubtedly enhance our current world class clinical support that we provide every day to the thousands of electrophysiologists around the world through Odyssey™ Cinema, in addition to providing them with a consolidated view of patient information in a single display through Odyssey™ Vision,” said Shlomi Nachman, Biosense Webster’s Worldwide President.
The Odyssey™ portfolio allows the operation of the entire lab as one system thus streamlining procedure workflow and the enabling of virtual remote support of cardiac ablation procedures and professional training which is both personalized to the electrophysiologists performing the procedure and also scalable on a global basis.
Biosense Webster and Stereotaxis have a longstanding co-development agreement, where Biosense Webster designs and distributes magnetically enabled catheters for use with Stereotaxis’ Niobe™ Magnetic Navigation System environment in cardiac ablation procedures. The Celsius® RMT and NaviStar® RMT families of Catheters, including the industry leading Celsius® and NaviStar® RMT ThermoCool® Catheters are the only magnetic catheters accurately matched to the navigational software of the Niobe™ System for optimal performance and highly precise catheter manipulation.
“Gaining distribution rights to Stereotaxis’ Odyssey™ portfolio of products will provide electrophysiology labs an unparalleled and unique enterprise solution for integrating, recording and networking interventional lab information within hospitals and around the world. We are excited at the opportunity that this extended collaboration will bring for electrophysiologists and the patients that they treat,” concluded Nachman.
About AF and cardiac ablation
Atrial Fibrillation is the most prevalent arrhythmia, and is a leading cause of stroke among people 65 years and older. Worldwide, it is estimated that 20 million people have AF, yet only ~130,000 are treated with ablation every year. The public health implications of AF are a growing concern because those with AF are at an increased risk of morbidity and mortality as well as a reduced quality of life.
Most patients with AF today are treated with anti-arrhythmic drugs (AADs), even though about half of them are refractory to these drugs. During cardiac ablation, energy is delivered through the catheter to those areas of the heart muscle causing the abnormal heart rhythm. This energy “disconnects” the pathway of the abnormal rhythm. Cardiac ablation is a very common treatment for “simple” arrhythmias, like Wolff-Parkison-White Syndrome and atrioventricular nodal re-entry tachycardia (AVNRT), and is increasingly being used for more complex arrhythmias like ventricular tachycardia and atrial fibrillation. ThermoCool® Navigation Catheters are approved for drug refractory recurrent symptomatic paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, when used with Carto® Systems (excluding NaviStar® RMT ThermoCool Catheter).
About Biosense Webster, Inc.
Biosense Webster, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company, pioneered EP diagnostic catheters more than 20 years ago and continues to lead the industry as an innovative provider of advanced diagnostic, therapeutic, and mapping tools. As the leader in navigation systems and ablation therapy, Biosense Webster, Inc. has technology that includes the largest installed base of navigation systems worldwide in leading hospitals and teaching institutions. For more information about Biosense Webster and its products, please visit: www.biosensewebster.com (this site is intended for US visitors only).
Contact:
Sandra Pound
(o) 908 541-4040
(m) 908-432-2829
Spound@its.jnj.com