Hemosphere awarded Premier contract for HeRO Graft

November 2011 — The Premier healthcare alliance announced new agreements for dialysis products and accessories have been awarded to AngioDynamics, B. Braun Medical, Covidien, Hemosphere, and Medical Components.

Effective Nov. 1, the agreements are available to acute care and continuum of care members of Premier.

Premier is a hospital and healthcare stakeholder-owned performance improvement organization.  Its alliance includes more than 2,500 U.S. hospitals and 77,000-plus healthcare sites.

Hemosphere Receives CE Mark Approval for the HeRO Graft

September 2011 — “CE Mark approval of the HeRO Graft allows us to build upon the already successful commercialization of the HeRO Graft in the U.S.,” said Patrick Wethington, Hemosphere President and CEO.  “Receiving EC and ISO 13485 Certification demonstrates the commitment Hemosphere has towards developing world-class quality systems and auditing processes that position us for future incremental sales growth.”

“Obtaining EC Certification for the HeRO Graft and ISO Certification are significant milestones for Hemosphere,” stated Laurie Lynch, Ph.D., Hemosphere’s Head of Quality and Regulatory Assurance. “These certifications signify that we have met the clinical, quality, and performance requirements of the Medical Device Directives (MDD) and demonstrates that the quality systems the company has in place achieve the rigorous performance standards required by the MDD.”

Read the full press release.

Another Sales Milestone, 4000 HeRO Grafts Sold!

August 2011 — Hemosphere sold the 4000th HeRO Graft marking a new 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. Read the full press release.

HeRO Graft Featured at Premier Healthcare Annual Breakthroughs Conference

June 2011 — The HeRO Graft was chosen from over 140 applicants to be part of Premier’s national program recognizing advances in healthcare and featured at the Innovations Celebration along with 17 other healthcare companies.

HeRO Graft was selected by a group of clinicians and other healthcare alliance members for reducing costly infections and hospital re-admissions associated with end-stage renal disease patients.

The Premier Annual Breakthroughs Conference highlights healthcare industry suppliers committed to improving patient outcomes. Serving more than 2,500 U.S. hospitals and 73,000-plus other healthcare sites, the Premier healthcare alliance and its members are transforming healthcare together. Approximately 200 hospitals and health systems created and entirely own the Premier alliance. Premier’s mission is “to improve the health of communities.”

Duke University Surgeons Present HeRO Experience in Istanbul, Turkey

May 2011 — Surgeons from Duke University, a HeRO Center of Excellence, presented case experience with the HeRO graft in Istanbul, Turkey at the 7th Congress of Vascular Access Society. The full presentation is available here.

Jim Bullock of Atritech Joins Hemosphere Board of Directors

Jim Bullock, President and CEO of Atritech, Inc., joined the Board of Directors at Hemosphere in March 2011. Atritech was recently acquired by Boston Scientific. Mr. Bullock brings over 30 years of professional experience in the medical industry. He was the former  President and CEO of Endocardial Solutions, Inc. which was acquired by St. Jude  Medical in January, 2005. Prior to Endocardial Solutions, he held various senior marketing and sales management positions at Pharmaseal, a division of Baxter International.

First HeRO Abstract Accepted for European Scientific Sessions

Shawn Gage, MD, a PA-C of Vascular Surgery at Duke University Medical Center, received an invitation to present the abstract titled, “Central venous recanalization and subsequent implantation of the Hemodialysis Reliable Outflow (HeRO®) device in catheter dependent patients” at the Scientific Committee of VAS 2011 in Instanbul later this year.

HeRO Graft Abstract Presented at SIR 2011

An abstract entitled “Early experience with percutaneous interventions on failing HeRO arteriovenous grafts“ was presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) in Chicago, IL, March 30, 2011, by Duke University Medical Center. 50 HeRO graft patients were studied and results demonstrated that 20 patients required an intervention. The median number of interventions was 2.5/year with 100% technical success rate for restoring function.

Hemosphere Receives Prestigious Therapeutic Discovery Project Grant

We are pleased and honored to be selected amongst a host of emerging medical device companies to receive the Therapeutic Discovery Project Grant. Over 4,600 companies from 47 states applied for the Treasury Department grant to support innovation in biotechnology and medical research. Hemosphere was one of the final grant recipients and is applying the grant funds to expand the company’s new product development and clinical research activities.

Abstracts Accepted for Poster Presentation at ASN Renal Week

November 2010 — Two posters were presented at the American Society of Nephrology’s Renal Week in Denver, CO, November 16-21, 2010.

The largest post-market dataset available with 6 and 12 month followup was presented by Shawn Gage, Duke University.

The second poster presentation demonstrated economic value for HeRO in light of new reimbursement bundling expected in January 2011. Larry Yost and Lesley Dinwiddie, MSN compiled this analysis.

View the posters on our Clinical Presentations page.

HeRO Experience Shared from Podium at CiDA

October 2010 — Controversies in Dialysis Access (CiDA) was held in San Francisco with over 500 attendees. Multiple access surgeons shared their personal experience with colleagues from the podium, in case study reviews, and poster presentations.

Hemosphere, Inc. Names Patrick Wethington New CEO

June 2010 – Patrick Wethington has joined the company as its new CEO, effective immediately.  Wethington brings 18 years of medical device experience and succeeds Doris Engibous.  Press Release

Hemosphere, Inc. Closes $9.3 Million Financing

March, 2010 — Hemosphere, Inc., a private medical device company, has completed a late round of venture capital financing totaling $9.3 million. Kaiser Permanente Ventures, Oakland, Calif., is lead investor, and Mutual Capital Partners, Cleveland, is the second largest new investor.  Press Release

Hemosphere featured in San Francisco Business Times

March 2010 — Kaiser Permanente Ventures, the media-shy VC arm of Oakland-based Kasier Permanente, was the lead investor in a $9.3 million financing round announced Wednesday by Hemosphere Inc., a private medical device company. See article here

Hemosphere featured in MedCity News 

March 2010 — Hemosphere, Inc., has raised more than $9.3 million in equity for its vascular access device that’s used by patients undergoing dialysis, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  Read More

ASDIN Features Two HeRO Poster Presentations and a Place at the Podium

February 2010 — Drs. James Lin, George Nassar, and John Ross shared their clinical experiences at ASDIN in Orlando, FL in mid-February. Dr. Lin shared his experience referring a failing fistula to a HeRO access surgeon resulting in fistula salvage and a new long-term access for his patient. Dr. Nassar compared HeRO patency to literature supported patency rates. And Dr. Ross presented from the podium discussing HeRO within the algorithm of care for end-stage renal disease patients. For more information, view the posters in their entirety on the Presentations page.