InspireMD Boosts MGuard Production Capacity

TEL AVIV, Israel, March 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

InspireMD, developer of the MGuard™ net protective stent system, has expanded its MGuard production facilities to meet the steady increase in demand.  The driving forces behind the accelerating demand for MGuard include the recent recommendation of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) mesh-based protection to be considered for PCI of highly thrombotic or SVG lesions. Currently, this type of approved mesh technology is exclusively produced by InspireMD in its unique MGuard™ mesh protected coronary stent system.  Greater awareness of the MGuard solution among interventional cardiologists worldwide has been contributing to increased MGuard sales. To accommodate this increased demand, InspireMD has enlarged its production workforce and invested in new crimping machinery that can double InspireMD's previous production capacity.

"Based on our last published financial results, for the nine months ended September 30, 2010, our sales have increased more than 100% compared to the same period in 2009, and with this growth in mind, we have expanded to meet increased production demand," said Eli Bar, CTO and VP R&D at InspireMD. "When we evaluated the success criteria for our investment in advanced crimping machinery, it was important to us that we would be able to increase production capacity by a factor of two. With our expanded facilities, we have experienced an even larger increase of our production capacity, and we are able to achieve constant output of a homogenous product of optimal quality."

"One of the main success factors of our business is our ability to produce and deliver our high quality products to match demand," stated Ofir Paz, CEO of InspireMD. "We are very pleased to see that our MGuard solution is becoming widely accepted as the preferred alternative for thrombus management in heart attack patients. The current expansion is the beginning of a major expansion in our production designed to meet the continued upward demand for MGuard solutions worldwide."

About MGuard™ Coronary

MGuard™ presents a novel combination of a coronary stent merged with an embolic protection specifically designed for Acute MI patients. The embolic protection is comprised of an ultra-thin polymer mesh sleeve that wraps the stent. The MGuard™ coronary stent provides permanent embolic protection, without affecting deliverability. MGuard™ is CE Mark approved. Mesh-based protection is now recommended for use in the recent Guidelines of the Task force of Myocardial Revascularization of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). The MGuard™ innovative concept has enjoyed an enthusiastic welcome from leading interventional cardiologists around the world.

About InspireMD Ltd.

InspireMD is an innovative medical device company focusing on the development and commercialization of its proprietary stent system technology, MGuard™. InspireMD intends to pursue applications of this technology in coronary, carotid and peripheral artery procedures.

SOURCE InspireMD