The world’s first pumpless lung assist device, the iLA Membrane Ventilator®, now exclusively available in Sweden and Norway through Vingmed Group.

Novalung GmbH, the German manufacturer of the world’s leading therapeutic system for extrapulmonary lung support, has signed exclusive agreements with Vingmed Svenska AB and Vingmed AS for distribution of the iLA Membrane Ventilator® in Sweden and Norway, respectively.

Dr. Torsten Rinne, Medical Director of Novalung GmbH, noted: “We have seen the application of the iLA Membrane Ventilator extend increasingly to the support of patients with acute exacerbations of chronic lung disease (COPD). Thus, it is exciting to see how Vingmed has embraced the concept of helping these patients by combining extrapulmonary CO2 removal with non-invasive ventilation as a way of limiting the negative effects that mechanical ventilation can have on their already damaged lungs.”

Of 185 patients added to the company’s iLA Patient Registry in 2009, almost 60% were patients with an acute worsening of a chronic disease (so called exacerbations). The Registry currently includes roughly 10% of the nearly 5,000 patients treated worldwide with the iLA Membrane Ventilator to date. Rinne comments: “Now that we have expanded the iLA Patient Registry to enable all of our customers to actively submit their clinical data, we look forward to a further significant increase in the data pool of COPD patients successfully treated with the iLA Membrane Ventilator. We hope that Vingmed’s customers will be significant contributors to the Registry.”

The Vingmed Group companies were chosen by Novalung due to their decades of experience with innovative medical procedures and their reputation for excellence in customer support. “The iLA Membrane Ventilator is a perfect addition to our current range of products” said Petter Solum of Vingmed AS.

The therapeutic aspects of using the iLA Membrane Ventilator and its relation to other extracorporeal therapies such as ECMO were presented to the participants of the annual meeting of the society of Swedish perfusionists (Swesect) in January 2010 in Visingsö, Sweden.

Novalung GmbH - Driver of a paradigm shift
Novalung’s mission is to develop, produce and market innovative solutions for lung failure, including the world’s first pumpless artificial lung assist device designed to breathe outside the patient’s body. Founded in 2003, the German company operates on a highly international level focusing on the objective to replace damaging invasive mechanical ventilation.

Franziska Preißing
Head of Marketing

Novalung GmbH
Egerten 3
D-74388 Talheim
Tel.: +49 7133 90 11 130
Fax: +49 7133 90 11 230
www.novalung.com

This release was published on openPR.