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 LATEST NEWS Spiration, Uptake Medical Vying to Develop Better Emphysema Treatment Link to article Uptake Medical Announces Successful Completion of Patient Enrollment in Pilot Safety & Feasibility Clinical Trial for Patients with Heterogeneous Emphysema Seattle, Washington – May 16, 2008. Uptake Medical announced today that it has completed patient enrollment in a phase I safety and feasibility clinical trial for the company's proprietary minimally invasive Bronchoscopic Thermal Vapor Ablation™ (BTVA™) treatment for patients suffering from heterogeneous emphysema with upper lobe predominance. The trial was conducted at two centers in Australia with world renowned thoracic physicians, Dr. Gregory Snell of The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria and Dr. Peter Hopkins of Prince Charles Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland from December 2007 to March 2008. "We are pleased with the early data on the use of vapor therapy which demonstrates an acceptable safety profile and encouraging potential for efficacy. BTVA holds the promise of a safe, simple and elective bronchoscopic approach to lung volume reduction for many patients suffering from emphysema who have limited treatment options," said Dr. Gregory Snell. "The early clinical results look very promising. The support and leadership of Dr. Snell and Dr. Hopkins have enabled Uptake Medical to conduct a very thorough Phase I Study in Australia and we look forward to building on this experience in the coming months throughout the world," noted King Nelson, President and CEO. Bronchoscopic Thermal Vapor Ablation (BTVA) is a minimally-invasive procedure that helps patients with emphysema breathe more easily. BTVA achieves lung volume reduction by delivering thermal vapor through a catheter which causes the diseased portion of the lung to reduce in volume. This non-surgical lung volume reduction allows the remaining healthy lung to expand more fully and function more normally. "This is a tremendous step forward for Uptake Medical and our BTVA therapy. We look forward to gaining more clinical experience with the technology and building compelling efficacy data," said Robert Barry, Founder and Chief Technology Officer. Based on these encouraging results, Uptake Medical is planning to conduct further clinical trials in Europe, Australia and the US. About Uptake Medical Uptake Medical™ Corporation is a developer of medical technologies for the treatment of lung diseases including emphysema. The core technology is a simple, minimally invasive, non-implant interventional pulmonary approach designed to measurably improve lung function and patient quality of life. Emphysema afflicts over 3 million people in the United States. Uptake Medical is a privately held company with investors that include: Prism Venture Partners, GBS Venture Partners, Onset Ventures, Affinity Capital, WRF Capital and Arboretum Ventures. Mike Numamoto joins Uptake Medical as Vice President of Marketing Seattle, Washington – (BUSINESSWIRE) – March 31, 2008 – Uptake Medical™ Corporation is pleased to announce that Mike Numamoto has joined the company as the Vice President of Marketing. He joins the company with over 20 years of experience in the life sciences and medical device industry. He served in management positions at Edwards Lifesciences, American Red Cross, VenPro Corporation, and Baxter Healthcare Corporation. "The team at Uptake Medical including the employees, supporting clinicians and Board of Directors has done a fantastic job of developing the technology and I look forward to bringing this state-of-art therapy to emphysema patients around the world", Numamoto said. "Mike's experience and knowledge in the medical device industry, along with his global marketing expertise are a perfect fit for Uptake Medical", said CEO and President King Nelson. "The addition of Mr. Numamoto provides the proven medical device global marketing and brand management leadership experience to accelerate the company through regulatory approvals and eventual commercialization of this exciting technology." noted Founder and Chief Technical Officer, Robert Barry. Mike Numamoto graduated from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management of Northwestern University with a Masters in Business Administration in Marketing and received his Bachelors of Science in Biological Sciences from the University of California-Irvine. Uptake Medical™ Corporation is a developer of medical technologies for the treatment of lung diseases including emphysema. The core technology is a simple, minimally invasive, non-implant, interventional pulmonary approach designed to measurably improve lung function and patient quality of life. Emphysema afflicts over 3 million sufferers in the U.S. Uptake Medical is a privately held company with investors that include: Prism Venture Partners, GBS Venture Partners, Onset Ventures, Affinity Capital, WRF Capital and Arboretum Ventures. Lung Volume Reduction (LVR) by Bronchoscopic Thermal Vapor Ablation (BTVA) Study Sponsored By Uptake Medical, Presented at the American College of Chest Physicians Annual Conference in Chicago October 21-25th Chicago - October 22, 2007 Results of the Lung Volume Reduction by Bronchoscopic Thermal Ablation (BTVA) animal study was presented today at the annual CHEST Meeting. The objective of the study was to achieve lung volume reduction (LVR) without the adverse effects of thoracic surgery and lung excision. The study tested the hypothesis that delivery of heated water vapor into the bronchial tree would reduce targeted lung regions due to remodeling of damaged tissue, thus producing effective LVR. The study was conducted using sheep and dogs, both in normal animals and in animals previously exposed to aerosolized papain, an agent known to produce emphysema-like changes in lung function. The study was presented by Dr. Michael J. Emery of the Veterans Administration Puget Sound Health Care System – Seattle, Washington. "We are very pleased with the results of this animal study that test the effectiveness and safety of this technology. The outcomes of this study have laid the groundwork to move forward with this innovative technology", said Robert Barry, Founder and Chief Technical Officer of Uptake Medical. This study showed strong evidence for substantial and dose-dependent reduction of lung volume in the treated regions due to the administration of vapor. The study demonstrated that BVTA is a technically simple, safe and effective method for producing LVR in animals with experimentally-induced emphysema. "The clinical implications of this study are exciting. BTVA is potentially a valuable new treatment for human emphysema" noted Dr. Emery. The study was financially supported by Uptake Medical. About Uptake Medical Corporation Uptake Medical, headquartered in Seattle, Washington is a privately funded medical device company developing a bronchoscopic treatment for emphysema utilizing a unique thermal vapor ablation technology. Read more > |
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| The Bronchoscopic Thermal Vapor Ablation System (BTVA) is investigational and not approved for use in the United States or abroad. |
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| ©2008 Uptake Medical™ |