Christopher D. Hutchins

Viacor is a development stage company dedicated to pioneering catheter-based techniques for the treatment of heart valve disease contributing to congestive heart failure. Currently, they are focused on the development of a minimally invasive cardiac valve repair system to treat congestive heart failure (CHF) patients afflicted with mitral regurgitation (MR), or 'leaky' mitral valves - a common problem among patients with CHF. Over 750,000 patients in the United States alone have associated functional MR and their mortality rate is double that of patients without MR. Their goal is to provide a new therapeutic alternative that significantly expands the potential to treat this large heart failure population without the risks associated with current surgical procedures. Viacor's Percutaneous Transvenous Mitral Annuloplasty (PTMA®) device has the potential to offer effective treatment with minimal intervention.

Philips Healthcare is engaged in the manufacture and distribution of diagnostic imaging systems, healthcare information technology solutions, and patient monitoring and cardiac devices. Philips Healthcare is a division of Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands, which is a global company in healthcare, lighting and consumer lifestyle, delivering people-centric, innovative products, services and solutions. It classifies its business activities into six areas, namely, Home Healthcare, Professional Healthcare, Imaging Systems, Clinical Care Systems, Healthcare Informatics and Customer Services. The company holds manufacturing facilities in The Netherlands, Germany, the US, Finland, Israel and Brazil. Philips Healthcare is headquartered in Massachusetts, the US.