CardioFocus Expands Management Team to Support Global Growth and Adoption of HeartLight® System

Names Paul LaViolette as Executive Chairman and Renny Clark as Chief Financial Officer

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Apr 16, 2013, 08:04 ET

MARLBOROUGH, Mass., April 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- CardioFocus, Inc., developer of the HeartLight® Endoscopic Ablation System for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF), announced today that it has expanded its management team. Paul LaViolette, previously Chairman of the Board, has been named Executive Chairman and Renny Clark has been named Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. They will work with President Stephen Sagon to accelerate international adoption of the HeartLight technology, prepare for U.S. pivotal trial completion, and drive overall company growth.

"CardioFocus has become a significant player in the global atrial fibrillation market with the HeartLight System. With increasing international demand and strategic interest in our technology, as well as the real-time completion of our pivotal trial and FDA submission, this was the ideal time to expand the management team and deepen our day-to-day resources. I think this is the most developed and differentiated new technology in the AF ablation market and we're excited by the significant growth opportunities that lay ahead for CardioFocus," said LaViolette.

Sagon commented, "Paul and Renny bring broad expertise in the cardiovascular space that will prove invaluable to the company. The HeartLight System is generating best-in-class outcomes data and rapid adoption by physicians across Europe. Our strengthened leadership team helps assure that CardioFocus will meet all of its future financial and strategic goals."

LaViolette has been Chairman of CardioFocus since 2011 and has 35 years of experience building and growing cardiovascular companies. He is currently a partner at SV Life Sciences and previously served as Group President of Cardiovascular Businesses and Chief Operating Officer at Boston Scientific Corporation (BSC). During LaViolette's 15 years at BSC in a variety of leadership roles, the company grew revenues over 20 times and LaViolette oversaw numerous acquisitions and product development initiatives.

Clark joins the CardioFocus team in the newly-created position of CFO and Treasurer, where he will help drive financial and strategic partnerships for the Company. He has extensive experience in financial leadership roles, most recently at St. Jude Medical as Vice President, Finance for the Cardiovascular Division-Massachusetts. He has also held senior management roles at LightLab Imaging and Boston Scientific.

The HeartLight System is the first cardiac ablation device to incorporate an endoscope for direct visualization of the pulmonary veins, a laser energy source and a dynamically compliant balloon. Extensive published and presented data based on over 1,000 clinical cases demonstrate durable chronic success rates from a single procedure, with over 80% of patients remaining free from AF without using anti-arrhythmic drugs after one year follow-up.

For more information, please visit www.CardioFocus.com.

About CardioFocus, Inc.
CardioFocus, Inc. is a medical device manufacturer dedicated to advancing ablation treatment for cardiac disorders such as atrial fibrillation (AF). Its novel HeartLight® Endoscopic Ablation System for catheter ablation incorporates an endoscope to provide physicians with the capacity to see within the heart, and for the first time, visually direct the application of laser energy to achieve durable pulmonary vein isolation.

The HeartLight Endoscopic Ablation System is commercially available at leading institutions throughout Europe. The device is investigational in the U.S., and currently the focus of a pivotal trial initiated in 2012. CardioFocus is headquartered in Marlborough, MA, USA. For more information on the company and its technology, please visit www.CardioFocus.com.

The scientific information discussed in this news release is preliminary and investigative. The CardioFocus HeartLight Endoscopic Ablation System is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and no conclusions can or should be drawn regarding the safety or effectiveness of the system. Only FDA can determine whether the product candidates are safe and effective for the use(s) being investigated. Healthcare professionals should refer to/rely upon FDA-approved labeling for the products, and not the information discussed in this news release.