The Polymer Technology Group (PTG) indicated that its customer, Sunshine Heart Inc., has passed the five-year milestone on durability-testing of its C-Pulse implantable heart assist device. C-Pulse is designed to be a non-blood-contacting heart assist therapy for treating patients with moderate to severe heart failure, a condition in which the heart progressively loses its ability to efficiently pump blood throughout the body. C-Pulse includes two polymers from PTG.

The FDA has decided to continue to regulate Vasogen’s Celacade system as a medical device. The Celacade system is a treatment for patients with New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class II heart failure. The FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) is to take over as the lead reviewer of the programme. The CBER has informed Vasogen that it does not agree with the use of a Bayesian approach in the ACCLAIM II study of the system. The FDA had earlier recommended the design.