NHS screening programme for treatment of AAA
Lombard Medical welcomes Prime Minister’s NHS preventative screening programme for the treatment of AAA
London, UK, 8 January 2008 – Lombard Medical Technologies PLC (AIM: LMT), the specialist medical device company, welcomes Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s speech yesterday in which he said that the renewal of the NHS is the Government’s highest priority. In particular, he stated that, as part of a "new drive for a more preventative health service”, the Government is to introduce screening for a number of major diseases including abdominal aortic aneurysms (‘AAAs’), a condition which kills more than 3,000 men in the UK each year.
AAAs can cause the body's main blood vessel, the aorta, to burst and is the third most common cause of death amongst older men. Early detection of this potentially fatal condition will allow preventative surgery which could save more than 1,600 lives each year. Pilot projects to screen for AAAs are to be set up in 2008, with national screening throughout the UK to follow thereafter.
Lombard Medical’s lead product, Aorfix™, provides a complete solution to the treatment of AAAs, also known as the 'Silent Killer' on account of most patients being unaware of their condition. Aorfix™ is the only endovascular stent graft that has the potential to treat both complex and routine AAA cases, as it moulds to the body’s shape due to its flexible coiled design, distinguishing it from other grafts on the market.
Brian Howlett, Lombard Medical’s CEO, said:
“We are pleased that the Government is to offer AAA screenings to all men over the age of 65. This initiative highlights the importance of the disease and early diagnosis followed by timely intervention will save lives that would otherwise be unnecessarily lost. The Aorfix™ stent graft has the potential to provide a more complete treatment solution than any other AAA stent graft currently available, thus addressing the needs of patients who may be suffering from this potentially fatal disease.”
Enquiries:
Lombard Medical Technologies PLC Tel: +44 (0) 1235 750 800
Brian Howlett, Chief Executive Officer
Tim Hall, Finance Director
Financial Dynamics Tel: +44 (0) 20 7831 3113
David Yates / Susan Quigley
Nomura Code Securities Limited Tel: +44 (0) 20 7776 1200
Juliet Thompson / Richard Potts
Notes to editors
About Lombard Medical
Lombard Medical is a medical devices company developing stent grafts and other medical products for use in the treatment of vascular disease. The Company’s lead product, Aorfix™, is a stent graft for the treatment of aortic aneurysms, a balloon-like enlargement of the aorta, which, if untreated, may rupture, and cause death. Abdominal and thoracic aortic aneurysms are the 13th largest cause of death in the US and the market is estimated to be worth approximately US$2 billion by 2010. Aorfix™ is currently being commercialised in the EU and US clinical trials are ongoing. The Company’s Polymer Coatings Division primarily develops polymer coatings for use in drug-eluting stents and has a number of research collaborations developing novel products for this US$6 billion market.
The Company, headquartered in Oxfordshire, with operations in Yorkshire, Ayrshire and Boston, USA, employs over 100 people.
Further background on the Company can be found at www.lombardmedical.com.