Newswise — The emerging and interdisciplinary field of tissue engineering attempts to find solutions to tissue creation and repair for various organs in the human body, of which the cardiovascular system. It applies the principles of engineering, material science, and biology to the development of substitutes that restore, maintain, or improve tissue function.

Tissue engineering is a promising field for a variety of applications and encompasses products made from human (allograft) and animal (xenograft) tissue. In the cardiovascular field, companies are seeking products that meet stringent sterile standards, are compliant with human body dynamics and are easy to use for the surgeon.

Overall, new cardiovascular procedures and minimally invasive techniques should considerably reduce overall cardiovascular costs as the amount of time hospital beds are occupied is decreased. They should also enable patient to return to active life sooner.

Dr Benedict Broennimann, President and CEO of LCV, commented that: "The partnership deal illustrates that Leman Cardiovascular and Hancock Jaffe Laboratories have a recognized know-how in biological tissue treatment to develop new generations of implants that cardiovascular markets require. We are proud to collaborate with Cook Medical, a well- established medical device manufacturer. This partnership furthers Leman Cardiovascular's international business development strategy and strengthens our financial position."

Leman Cardiovascular, a biomedical device company with offices in Switzerland and in the United States, was founded in 2004 to develop, manufacture, and market cardiovascular surgical devices. A new generation of biological heart valve is in pre-clinical development.

The US division of the company markets the ProCol® Vascular Bioprosthesis for the creation of a bridge graft in patients requiring vascular access and the PeriPro™ Pericardial Patch for use in cardiovascular surgery. These products are available for sale in the United States. For more information see www.lemancardiovascular.com and http://www.hancockjaffe.com .

With international headquarters in Bloomington, Indiana, Cook® Medical, the world's largest privately-held medical device manufacturer, is a leading designer, manufacturer and global distributor of minimally invasive medical device technology for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Since its founding in 1963, Cook has created innovative technologies for radiology, cardiology, urology, critical care medicine, general surgery, assisted reproduction, gynecology and obstetrics, endovascular medicine, gastroenterology and endoscopy. Cook Medical was named the 2006 Medical Device & Diagnostic Industry Magazine Medical Device Manufacturer of the Year. For more information see http://www.cookmedical.com