HeartStitch ® Announces Top New Sales and Marketing VP joins the HeartStitch Team
Highly Experienced Executive Will Fill Important Role Of
Vice President, International Sales And Marketing
Los Angeles, California—June 10, 2016—HeartStitch® is pleased to announce the appointment of Dirk Segers as Vice President, International Sales and Marketing. Mr. Segers brings an extensive range of experience in the medical-device industry—spanning twenty-five years—to HeartStitch’s® international operations.
Based in Belgium, he has been tasked with developing the company’s sales and marketing activities world wide beginning in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa; coordinating direct sales in countries such as Sweden, Germany and the UK; and managing the continuing development of HeartStitch’s® growing distributor network. Segers’ experience has ranged from large corporations such as Pfizer, to early stage start-ups. Underscoring the breadth of his experience are Master’s Degrees in Medical Nuclear Techniques, Applied Economics, and Business Administration.
While speaking about his new position, Mr. Segers said, “I am truly excited about this opportunity to assist in the sales and distribution of such an impressive, and frankly ingenious, porfolio of devices. After more than two decades in this field I have worked on a wide variety of projects, and few if any have struck me as having the potential for positive impact on patients’ lives as what we’re constructing at HeartStitch®. For me that level of confidence in a product, and the company creating it, is essential.”
Professor Anthony Nobles, Chairman of the Board and CEO commented, “I speak on behalf of our entire staff when I say we are thrilled to have Dirk on board. Dirk’s breadth of roles across all aspects of the industry are impressive, HeartStitch® will most intensively leverage his extraordinary experience launching medical-device products from the ground up. This is of course an essential and ongoing part of our business, and one with duties that will only continue to build in the future. The depth of his knowledge, and his ability to keep so many aspects of our business in focus simultaneously, will serve us well as we expand to additional markets.”
Rich Babcock, member of the Board of Directors and corporate counsel, stated, “It’s rare when an applicant for a position with needs as specific as HeartStitch® emerges from the hiring process, and has qualifications that so closely match. His international perspective, developed and then proven through so many different cultures and business scenarios, should prove invaluable to achieving the company’s goals—and to its shareholders.”
About PFO closure
A PFO is a relatively common heart defect characterized by an unsealed tunnel between the right and left atria of the heart. This defect has been known to be present in anywhere between 27%-38% of people. However, in a number of cases, it is benign.
The PFO is formed as a trace of the fetal circulation. When the chambers of a human heart begin to develop, a tunnel is made between the right and left atria, allowing blood to flow directly from the venous circulation to the arterial circulation, circumventing the non-functioning fetal lungs. Following birth, the pressure differential between the right and left atria changes with newly operational blood flow to the fully functioning lungs. Because of this, the tunnel eventually closes completely within the first few months.
However, in some patients, the foramen ovale fails to seal and stays "patent". In patients with a Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO), the tunnel can reopen under elevated atrial pressure, such as coughing, or straining.
A key issue with PFO is that it gives a pathway for blood clots to pass directly to the arterial circulation without being filtered out by the capillary bed of the lungs. A PFO can also let deoxygenated blood and certain chemicals cross over to the arterial side. The presence of a PFO has been linked to a number of clinical issues, mainly strokes, migraines and chronic fatigue. Developments are being made to solidify the link between PFO and strokes or migraines, and to identify patients that would benefit from PFO closure.
For more information, please contact shareholder representatives:
USA
Dru Dobbs
P. +1 714 427 6348
F. +1 714 427 6343
In Kazakhstan
Kazbek Aubakirov
P. +7 777 5009005
About HeartStitch®
HeartStitch® Inc. was founded by Prof. Anthony Nobles with the intent of leveraging its technologies in the structural heart marketplace. HeartStitch® is focused on innovative suture-based systems for remotely providing suture repair of structural heart defects and other vascular structures.
The HeartStitch® TA and HeartStitch® MR are FDA cleared for vascular suturing in the United States. HeartStitch® manufactures and markets the NobleStitch™ EL under exclusive license from Nobles Medical technologies II, Inc. NobleStitch™ EL is FDA cleared for vascular suturing in the United States and CE Marked for cardio-vascular suturing and PFO closure in the European Union and the Republic of Kazakhstan, respectively.
HeartStitch® is a registered trademark of HeartStitch, Inc.
HeartStitch® TA for cardiac suturing and transapical access and closure
Covered by or for use under U.S. and international patents including one or more of U.S. Patent Nos. 5860990, 6117144, 6245079, 6551331, 6562052, 6733509, 7004952, 7090686, 7803167, 8197497, 8348962, 8469975, 8496676, and 8709020.
HeartStitch® MR for suturing an anatomical valve
Covered by or for use under U.S. and international patents including one or more of U.S. Patent Nos. 5860990, 6117144, 6245079, 6551331, 6562052, 6733509, 7004952, 7090686, 7803167, 8197497, 8348962, 8469975, 8496676, 8709020, and 8771296.
NobleStitch™ EL for PFO closure
Covered by or for use under U.S. and international patents including one or more of U.S. Patent Nos. 5860990, 6117144, 6245079, 6551331, 6562052, 6733509, 7004952, 7090686, 7803167, 8197497, 8197510, 8246636, 8348962, 8372089, 8469975, 8496676, 8709020, and 9131938.
For more on HeartStitch® visit www.HeartStitch.com