SHAREHOLDER ALERT: Pomerantz Law Firm Reminds Shareholders With Losses on Their Investment in Thoratec Corporation of Class Action Lawsuit and Upcoming Deadline -- THOR

NEW YORK, March 7, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP has filed a class action lawsuit against Thoratec Corporation ("Thoratec" or the "Company") THOR and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court, Northern District of California, and docketed under 14-cv-00360, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired Thoratec securities between April 29, 2010 and November 27, 2013 both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"). This class action seeks to recover damages against Defendants for alleged violations of the federal securities laws pursuant to Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder.

If you are a shareholder who purchased Thoratec securities during the Class Period, you have until March 24, 2014 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll free, x237. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and number of shares purchased.

Thoratec researches, develops, manufactures, and markets medical devices for circulatory support and vascular graft applications. The Company's products include a ventricular assist device, an implantable left ventricular heart assist device, a vascular access graft, and a coronary artery bypass graft. Thoratec also supplies whole-blood coagulation testing equipment.

The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company's business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose that the Company's HeartMate II Left Ventricular Assist Device had significant risk of pump thrombosis, causing numerous fatalities. As a result of the foregoing, the Company's statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

On April 4, 2012, U.S. regulators ordered a recall for the company's HeartMate II heart pumps for a potentially deadly defect. In a regulatory posting by the Food and Drug Administration, the agency stated that the recall "was initiated after Thoratec found that a component of the implanted device, which pumps blood for heart failure patients, may sometimes be improperly attached to the HeartMate II." On the news, Thoratec shares tumbled $1.52 or almost 4.5% to close at $32.83 on April 4, 2012.

On November 27, 2013, after the market closed, The New England Journal of Medicine released a study entitled, "Unexpected Abrupt Increase in Left Ventricular Assist Device Thrombosis" concluding that the "rate of pump thrombosis related to the use of the HeartMate II has been increasing at our centers and is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality." On this news, Thoratec shares declined $2.75 per share or 6.5%, to close at $39.37 per share on November 29, 2013.

The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Florida, and San Diego, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 70 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com.