AGA Medical Corporation Receives CE Mark Approval For The AMPLATZER Vascular Plug III

Minneapolis, MN - AGA Medical Corporation ("AGA") announced recently it received CE mark approval to market the AMPLATZER Vascular Plug III ("AVP III"). AGA also announced the immediate availability and launch of the device in the European Union. The AVP III further expands the AGA family of occlusion devices designed to embolize, or close, blood vessels and blood vessel malformations in the peripheral vasculature.

"We believe the new AVP III is another strong addition to the AGA vascular plug family," said Franck Gougeon, President and CEO of AGA. "Our goal is to provide physicians with a toolbox of embolization devices that can treat vessels of different types and length and with different flow characteristics."

The AVP III is a self-expanding nitinol mesh device and is designed to be introduced in a minimally invasive fashion through a catheter. The device comes pre-attached to a delivery cable by a small screw; the delivery cable enables the physician to precisely position the device in the targeted blood vessel. Once positioned, the cable is unscrewed and the device is released. The nitinol mesh retention discs ensure the secure positioning of the device even in high flow vessels.

"Our pre-clinical testing suggests that the AVP III will have the fastest occlusion times within our vascular plug family," said Mr. Gougeon.

The AVP III is under review by the Food and Drug Administration for clearance to market in the U.S.

SOURCE: AGA Medical Corporation