Thoratec Announces Addition To Senior Management Team

PLEASANTON, Calif., May 1, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Thoratec Corporation THOR, a world leader in mechanical circulatory support therapies to save, support and restore failing hearts, announced today that Marta Antonucci has joined Thoratec in the newly created role of President, International.

This new Europe-based position is responsible for all Thoratec commercial operations outside of North America, including Europe, Asia, and Latin America, and reports directly to the Chief Executive Officer. Following the completion of her PhD in Biomedical Engineering, Ms. Antonucci has spent nearly twenty years in the medical technology industry, with particular focus in marketing and sales of cardiovascular devices, having held senior management positions at Guidant, Sorin Group, and Boston Scientific, where she most recently served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the S-ICD business in Europe. 

"We are delighted to add such an accomplished leader with deep international experience to our team in a key role that will help drive our results in Europe and throughout the world," said D. Keith Grossman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Marta's arrival is particularly timely as we strive to prepare our European commercial organization to maximize the near-term opportunity to advance LVAD therapy with the launch of both HeartMate III and HeartMate PHP later this year," he added.

About Thoratec

Thoratec is a world leader in therapies to address advanced-stage heart failure. The company's products include the HeartMate II® and HeartMate III™ LVAS (Left Ventricular Assist Systems) and Thoratec® VAD (Ventricular Assist Device) with more than 20,000 devices implanted in patients suffering from heart failure. Thoratec also manufactures and distributes the CentriMag®, PediMag®/PediVAS®, and HeartMate PHP™ product lines. HeartMate III is an investigational device and is limited by US law to investigational use. HeartMate PHP is currently in development and not approved for sale. Thoratec is headquartered in Pleasanton, California. For more information, visit the company's website at http://www.thoratec.com.

Thoratec, the Thoratec logo, HeartMate, and HeartMate II are registered trademarks of Thoratec Corporation and HeartMate III, HeartMate PHP, and IVAD are trademarks of Thoratec Corporation.  CentriMag and PediMag are registered trademarks of Thoratec LLC, and PediVAS is a registered trademark of Thoratec Switzerland GmbH.

The preceding paragraphs contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Sections 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements can be identified by the words, "believes," "views," "expects," "plans," "projects," "should," "hopes," "could," "will," "estimates," "potential," and other similar words. Actual results, events or performance could differ materially from these forward-looking statements based on a variety of factors, many of which are beyond Thoratec's control. Therefore, readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on these statements. Investors are cautioned that all such statements involve risks and uncertainties, including risks related to regulatory approvals, the development of new products, including development and clinical trial timing, the growth of existing markets for our products, customer and physician acceptance of Thoratec products, the effects of international and FDA regulatory requirements, our ability to address quality issues adequately and on a timely basis without a resulting recall of products or interruption of manufacturing or shipment of products, the effects of healthcare reimbursement and coverage policies, and the effects of competition. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release should be considered in light of these factors and those factors discussed from time to time in Thoratec's public reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, such as those discussed under the heading, "Risk Factors," in Thoratec's most recent annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and other SEC filings. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. Thoratec undertakes no obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

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SOURCE Thoratec Corporation