ValveXchange, Inc was awarded the 2009 North American Award for Technology Innovation of the Year by Frost & Sullivan for developing the innovative ValveXchange Heart Valve System. ValveXchange’s two part system consists of a docking station that is sewn in place and a set of replaceable tissue-based leaflets. Unlike those patients receiving mechanical valves, patients using the ValveXchange system will not require warfarin therapy. Moreover, the system enables exchange of the leaflets via a much simpler surgical procedure than the initial surgery should they wear out, guarding against the shorter lifespan of tissue valves. According to Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst S.R. Priya “Overall, the ValveXchange system provides the innate hemodynamic and non-thrombogenic benefits of tissue valves to patients of all ages, thus obviating the need for expensive and potentially problematic anti-coagulation therapies and major lifestyle modifications [required when mechanical valves are used].” ValveXchange, based in Aurora, Colorado, initiated testing in animals with its valve system in January. CEO Larry Blankenship will represent the company to receive the award, which honors “a company that has carried out new research, which has resulted in innovation(s) that have or are expected to bring significant contributions to the industry in terms of adoption, change, and competitive posture,” in San Francisco next week.
RockyRadar profiled ValveXchange in November of 2008.
