May 2012 – Steven G. Anderson, president and chief executive officer of CryoLife, said, “The acquisition of Hemosphere significantly advances our strategic initiative to reposition CryoLife’s product portfolio with higher growth, higher margin medical devices for cardiac and vascular surgery. We believe there is a significant opportunity for our sales team to leverage their strong relationships with vascular surgeons, many of whom already use our preserved human veins and arteries to provide arteriovenous (AV) access for ESRD patients, to introduce and to expand utilization of the HeRO Graft in the U.S. In addition, we believe that potential product enhancements and international sales represent incremental HeRO Graft growth opportunities.”

Read the full press release.

HeRO News Bulletin Eleven

March 2012 — Hemosphere sold the 5000th HeRO Graft  marking a significant milestone in the company’s history. “With the continued focus on infection reduction in the hospital and clinical setting, … HeRO is quickly becoming the standard of care for catheter-dependent hemodialysis patients with venous outflow obstruction such as central venous stenosis.” says Pat Wethington, President and CEO.

March 2012 — The NKF recently published a clinical bulletin entitled; “A Clinical Update on an Alternative Vascular Access for the Cathter-Dependent Hemodialysis Patient.” This bulletin was written, reviewed and edited in peer review fashion by a panel of NKF-chosen Nephrology, Interventional Nephrology, Vascular Surgery experts and key opinion leaders.

This bulletin highlights the options for patients who are not candidates for AVF or AVG due to central venous stenosis, the HeRO Graft indications for use, and the evidence-based benefits and risks related to HeRO Graft.

The entire bulletin is available through the NKF on their Clinician Tools and Learning page here.

After a year with Hemosphere as Controller and Director of Operations, David Krenn has been promoted to Vice President of Finance to support company growth and infrastructure.

In conjunction with the Controversies in Dialysis Access (CiDA) Conference and the Renal Physicians Association (RPA) Annual Meeting, Hemosphere sponsored an Inter-Disciplinary Team (IDT) Forum last fall 2011 and mid-March 2012. The IDT Forum is a program designed to share best practices and support the development of successful vascular access interdisciplinary teams.

Key thought leaders in vascular surgery, nephrology, and interventional nephrology made up the faculty and attendees came from all specialties in the renal community. You can view presentations and videos on the IDT Forum page.

The goal of the IDT is ideal patient-centered outcomes through enhanced interaction and collaboration. With government agencies focused on reducing costs associated with infection, particularly from long-term central venous catheter use for hemodialysis, Hemosphere joins in the challenge of bringing the renal community together to meet these catheter-reduction goals.

The HeRO Graft is cannulated the same as any ePTFE graft, therefore Heparin use would be the same. However, since the HeRO Graft is a continuous flow system, no Heparin lock at the end of the dialysis session is needed.
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