Business Wire

MA-ABIOMED

21.12.2020 14:07:15 CET | Business Wire | Press release

Share
First Patients, Including a COVID-19 Patient, Treated with Abiomed’s Innovative ECMO Technology

Abiomed (NASDAQ: ABMD) announces the first two patients in the world have been treated with the Abiomed Breethe OXY-1 System , a compact cardiopulmonary bypass system. The advanced ECMO technology pumps, oxygenates, and removes carbon dioxide from blood for patients whose lungs can no longer provide sufficient end organ oxygenation.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201221005403/en/

The system can help provide oxygenation to patients suffering from cardiogenic shock or respiratory failure from ARDS, H1N1, SARS, or COVID-19. When used with the Impella heart pump , it can unload the heart and oxygenate the body, a combination therapy known as ECpella.

The first patient is a 21-year-old woman at the University of Maryland Medical Center who sustained a lung injury and was placed on V-V ECMO with the Breethe system. She immediately began to improve and was able to ambulate daily, as seen in this short video .

After eight days, the patient was successfully weaned off Breethe support and is no longer in the ICU. The patient was treated by Bartley Griffith, MD, the Hales Distinguished Professor of Surgery at University of Maryland, School of Medicine and Daniel Herr, MD, chief surgical critical care services and medical director cardiac surgery ICU at University of Maryland Medical Center.

The second patient is a 51-year-old woman being treated at HUMC/Hackensack Meridian Health for respiratory failure due to COVID-19. After 24 hours of V-V ECMO support with the Breethe system, she is stable and improving. The patient was treated by Mark Anderson, MD, chief of the division of cardiac surgery and cardiothoracic surgeon at the Heart and Vascular Hospital at HUMC/Hackensack Meridian Health.

“Breethe is an important new option for patients with COVID-19 who require ECMO therapy. It is simple and intuitive to use, highly portable and a very promising therapy with the potential to help many patients,” said Dr. Anderson.

“This revolutionary technology will change the way we think about extracorporeal life support therapy by enabling physicians to easily mobilize their patients in turn promoting a faster recovery,” said Dr. Griffith. “I am pleased to be a part of this milestone as Abiomed continues to advance respiratory and cardiac support to improve patient outcomes.”

“The Breethe system significantly facilitates early mobilization and physical rehabilitation, which is critically important in the recovery of our patients,” said Chris L. Wells, PhD, PT, CCS, ATC, associate professor at the University of Maryland, School of Medicine, EBP, and research coordinator in the department of rehab services at University of Maryland Medical Center. She is also member of the medical team who treated the first patient.

Breethe adds to Abiomed’s innovative portfolio focused on native heart and lung recovery. Abiomed now provides the treatment options of the catheter-based Impella heart pump, which unloads the left ventricle, perfuses end organs and allows the heart to rest and recover, Breethe, which provides oxygenation, and the combination therapy of ECpella, when Impella and Breethe work together to unload the heart and oxygenate the body.

The Breethe system received FDA 510(k) clearance in October. It is being rolled out through a controlled launch at select hospitals in the United States, with full U.S. commercial availability expected in calendar year 2021.

ABOUT ABIOMED

Based in Danvers, Massachusetts, USA, Abiomed, Inc. is a leading provider of medical devices that provide circulatory support. Our products are designed to enable the heart to rest by improving blood flow and/or performing the pumping of the heart. For additional information, please visit: www.abiomed.com .

ABOUT ABIOMED BREETHE OXY-1 SYSTEM

The Abiomed Breethe OXY-1 System™ is cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to provide extracorporeal circulation. The OXY-1 System pumps, oxygenates and removes carbon dioxide from blood during cardiopulmonary bypass up to six (6) hours in duration.

Under guidance issued by FDA, on April 6, 2020, the Abiomed Breethe OXY-1 System is now permitted to be used temporarily in the U.S. for ECMO therapy greater than six hours. Therefore, it now has a limited indication modification for use longer than six hours in an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) circuit to treat patients who are experiencing acute temporary respiratory or acute cardiopulmonary failure. This limited indication modification for ECMO therapy greater than six hours has not been cleared or approved by FDA and is in effect only for the duration of the public health emergency related to COVID-19 as declared by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties such as those described in Abiomed's periodic reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results may differ materially from anticipated results.

About Business Wire

Business Wire
Business Wire
101 California Street, 20th Floor
CA 94111 San Francisco

http://businesswire.com

Subscribe to releases from Business Wire

Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Latest releases from Business Wire

Vertex Announces CASGEVY® Reimbursement Agreement for the Treatment of Sickle Cell Disease and Transfusion-Dependent Beta Thalassemia in Germany6.5.2026 13:01:00 CEST | Press release

-The agreement ensures sustainable access to this innovative therapy for eligible patients ages 12 years and older in Germany- Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (Nasdaq: VRTX) announced today that a reimbursement agreement was signed with the GKV-Spitzenverband for its CRISPR/Cas9 gene-edited therapy, CASGEVY® (exagamglogene autotemcel). This agreement secures sustainable access to this innovative one-time treatment for eligible patients in Germany ages 12 years and older living with severe sickle cell disease or transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia. “For the first time in Germany, a long-term, sustainable access agreement to a gene therapy has been established for people living with sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia,” said Ludovic Fenaux, Senior Vice President, Vertex International. “This agreement represents significant progress for people living with these two devastating and life-shortening diseases. We are pleased to collaborate across the health c

Suzano Connects an Area the Size of Over 200,000 Soccer Fields Through Ecological Corridors in Just Four Years6.5.2026 13:00:00 CEST | Press release

Initiative integrates fragments of native forests in the Atlantic Forest, Cerrado and Amazon biomes, stimulating wildlife movement, the expansion of vegetation cover and the restoration of ecosystems Suzano, the world's largest pulp supplier, has connected 214,368 hectares of native forest in the Atlantic Forest, Cerrado, and Amazon biomes in Brazil by establishing ecological corridors, restoring an area larger than 200,000 soccer fields within four years. In 2025 alone, 55,366 hectares of native forest were connected, advancing Suzano’s public goal of connecting 500,000 hectares by 2030, as outlined in the Company’s recently published Sustainability Report. The implementation of ecological corridors is guided by decades of research and monitoring by Suzano and its partners. The aim is to connect larger fragments of land that host greater biodiversity, as well as those already monitored by experts, with sites where wildlife is limited or threatened. These corridors are designed to foll

NIQ Launches AI-Powered Platform to Help Brands Test Pricing Decisions Before They Go to Market6.5.2026 13:00:00 CEST | Press release

New AI-enabled solution replaces fragmented tools with simulation-driven pricing and promotion decisions before execution As manufacturers face mounting pressure to protect margins, justify trade spend, and respond faster to shifting consumer demand, NIQ (NYSE: NIQ), a global leader in consumer intelligence, today announced the commercial launch of Price & Promo Optimizer, a next‑generation, AI‑enabled Revenue Growth Management (RGM) platform built to fundamentally change how pricing and promotion decisions are made. Today, many pricing and promotion decisions are still made across disconnected tools, manual workflows, and siloed teams—slowing execution, increasing risk, and limiting the ability to validate strategies before they reach the market. Price & Promo Optimizer replaces this fragmented approach with a united platform that brings pricing, promotion, and trade strategy into a single workflow. Powered by NIQ’s trusted store‑level measurement data and advanced analytical models,

From Checkout to Check-In: Klarna and Minor Hotels Bring Flexible Payments to Europe6.5.2026 12:56:00 CEST | Press release

Klarna, the global digital bank and flexible payments provider, and Minor Hotels, one of the world's leading hospitality groups, today announced a new partnership bringing Klarna's payments to travellers booking across Europe, just in time for the summer holiday season. With over 640 hotels, resorts and branded residences in operation and committed development across 63 countries, the group crafts innovative and insightful experiences through its hotel brands including Anantara, Elewana Collection, The Wolseley Hotels, Tivoli, Minor Reserve Collection, NH Collection, nhow, Avani, Colbert Collection, NH, Oaks, and iStay, as well as a diverse portfolio of restaurants and bars, travel experiences, and spa and wellness brands. Guests booking through Minor Hotel can now choose how they pay at checkout, whether that's paying immediately or splitting the cost into three interest-free installments, giving travellers greater financial flexibility when planning their dream trips. The partnership

Compass Pathways to Announce First Quarter 2026 Financial Results on May 13, 20266.5.2026 12:30:00 CEST | Press release

Compass management will host a conference call at 8:00 am ET (1:00 pm UK) Compass Pathways plc (Nasdaq: CMPS), a biotechnology company dedicated to accelerating patient access to evidence-based innovation in mental health, announced today that it will release financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026, and provide an update on recent developments, on May 13, 2026. Compass management will host a conference call at 8:00 am ET (1:00 pm UK) on May 13, 2026. A live webcast of the call will be available on the Compass Pathways website at: https://events.q4inc.com/attendee/144892287. The webcast will be archived for 30 days. About Compass Pathways Compass Pathways plc (Nasdaq: CMPS) is a biotechnology company dedicated to accelerating patient access to evidence-based innovation in mental health. We are motivated by the need to find better ways to help and empower people with serious mental health conditions who are not helped by existing treatments. We are pioneering a new p

In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.

Visit our pressroom
World GlobeA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.HiddenA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.Eye