Lazarus Effect Funnel™ Guide Catheter Receives CE Mark

- First of four products in development to improve outcomes of ischemic stroke treatment -

CAMPBELL, California, July 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Lazarus Effect, a medical device company focused on improving treatment of acute ischemic stroke through effective removal of the blood clots that cause a stroke, announced today that the Lazarus Funnel™ Guide Catheter has received CE Mark.  The Lazarus Funnel is a unique, single-lumen catheter designed to enhance the introduction and removal of interventional devices, including those used to treat acute ischemic stroke.

Lazarus Effect plans to launch the Lazarus Funnel in Europe during Q1 2013. The company is currently evaluating distribution partners.

"The Lazarus Funnel offers the potential to reduce the incidence of secondary stroke resulting from clot pieces lost during removal with standard thrombectomy devices," said Martin Dieck, chairman and CEO, Lazarus Effect.  "It is the first in a series of products we are developing to address the limitations of current stroke intervention systems and the challenges posed by the broad range of clot types that cause ischemic stroke."

Approximately two million strokes occur in Europe each year. Seventy-eight percent of these are ischemic and caused by a dislodged blood clot or arterial plaque debris traveling to the brain and blocking a cerebral artery. Thrombectomy (clot removal) devices have demonstrated success "capturing" clots within the affected vessel, but often lose material as the device is extracted. Among 124 Stentriever (stent plus retriever) cases evaluated during a recent European study, lost clot pieces caused embolization in areas of the brain previously not affected nine percent of the time.

The Lazarus Funnel has been used successfully in European clinics to support primary revascularization devices such as the Solitaire™.

About Lazarus Effect
Lazarus Effect is generating a complete portfolio of products to treat ischemic stroke based on a patent-pending wire-frame technology platform. The company's founders are proven pioneers of ischemic stroke treatment with significant involvement in every aspect of the ischemic stroke business, technology and treatment. More information can be found at www.lazarus-effect.com.